• ORBIS ON THE HORIZON

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    We are happy and proud to announce that on 5th July 2017 the European Commission awarded 2,268 million € for the realisation of prestigious, international and intersectoral project no. 778051 entitled ORBIS (Open Research Biopharmaceutical Internships Support). The four-year-long (2018-2022) grant was favourably evaluated in the Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) call under the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Actions of Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (H2020-MSCA-RISE-2017). This is a great success for Poznan University of Medical Sciences in particular, since for the first time the Faculty of Pharmacy of our university will be the consortium leader for 9 academic and commercial institutions from Europe and the USA in a research project of such  broad scale, impact and prestige.

                4 academies, 1 research institute and 4 pharmaceutical companies from 7 countries will participate in the ORBIS project, which is coordinated by Prof. Janina Lulek of the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology at PUMS Faculty of Pharmacy. Among our consortium partners are: Pharmaceutical Research Institute (Poland), Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), University of Helsinki (Finland), Applied Process Company Ltd. (Ireland), Farmak JSC (Ukraine), Physiolution GmbH (Germany), Zentiva k.s. (Czech Republic) and Rutgers University (USA).

                The ORBIS project is a response to the current scientific, economic and social challenge of increasing the effectiveness and productivity of drug development process, both for innovative and (super)generic drugs. This goal can be achieved by interdisciplinary cooperation between the academics from different fields of pharmaceutical sciences and the employees of R&D sector in commercial enterprises. For the sake of this overarching objective, the core of ORBIS is constituted by international, intersectoral exchange of researchers between academic centres and pharmaceutical companies – the consortium partners. During the secondments planned in the project, young and experienced scientists will cooperate with the hosting institutions on the most relevant and up-to-date issues of drug development process, such as: synthesis optimisation for new active ingredients, their preformulation studies, development of novel oral, dermal and transdermal dosage forms, as well as their biopharmaceutical evaluation with new methods. In the ORBIS framework, 27 young and experienced representatives from 6 departments of PUMS Faculty of Pharmacy and Section of International Cooperation and European Integration will be seconded to 5 institutions for the total time of 113 months. We are also glad to host at the Faculty guests from 4 European companies for 53 months total.

                The international, intersectoral cooperation of ORBIS consortium will bring tangible scientific effects owing to the synergy created by the exchange of experience between participants, as well as due to the access to complementary research infrastructure. An aspect of the project particularly important for young researchers is an opportunity for career development, enabled by the enhancement of scientific abilities and the contact with experienced colleagues, as well as soft skills development by working in a culturally and organisationally diverse environment. What is more, the ORBIS project will strengthen the bonds between PUMS and our partners, fostering the integration of European pharmaceutical sector over the organised workshops or conferences and laying the foundation for further long-term cooperation.