On 10th and 11th May 2018 the University of Bologna hosted the 12th A.It.U.N. Meeting “Medicines for older people: advances in drug delivery”, organized by the Italian Student Chapter of AAPS.
The meeting counted over 90 partecipants from 15 different Italian Universities and from the industry as well as the presentations of eleven experts on the topic, seven oral communications of young researchers and a poster session.
On the first day, the meeting started with the welcome ceremony by Dr. Serena Bertoni, chair of A.It.U.N., by Prof. Nadia Passerini, faculty advisor of the association and Prof. Santi Mario Spampinato, head of the Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology of the University of Bologna. Following, the meeting opened with the la session I: “The older patient population: characteristics & needs”. In this first session, the older patient has been described from different points of view: the clinical perspective was explored by Dr. Fabrizio Imola (Operative Units “Geriatria Calogero f.f”, S. Orsola Malpighi Hospital, Bologna) and the pharmacological perspective was addressed by Dr. Andrea Bedini (Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna). An original perspective of the problems characterizing the use of medicines by the elderly was proposed by Prof. Sven Stegemann (Capsugel e Graz University of Technology, Austria), who is an international expert of the development of patient centric drug products, founder and chair of the “AAPS Focus Group on Patient-Centric Drug Development, Product Design, and Manufacturing” and founder and President of the “Geriatric Medicine Society”. After a brief coffee break, it was the time of oral communications by Dr. Irene Pignata from University of Torino and Dr. Ilaria Arduino from University of Bari.
In the evening a very nice social dinner, offered by A.It.U.N., took place at the traditional restaurant Cantina Bentivoglio, in the historical city centre, where the guests had the chance to try typical local dishes and wine.
The second day of the meeting started with the opening of the session II: “Oral drug delivery” and with the first presentation of Prof. Giulia Bonacucina (School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino) who introduced the problem of dysphagia in the elderly, followed by Dr. Alberto Genovesi (Colorcon, UK) who described the advantages of a new excipient for obtaining a slippery film coating of solid dosage forms. Then, two interesting oral communications were hold by Dr. Serena Logrippo from University of Camerino and Dr. Debora Zanolla from University of Trieste. In the second part of the session the characteristics and the advantages of orodispersible films in overcoming swallowing limitations common in geriatric patients were discussed during the talk of Umberto Musazzi (Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Milan) and following, the innovative properties of fixed combination products were highlighted by Prof. Alessandra Rossi (Food and Drug Department, University of Parma).
The session III: “Alternative route of administration and future perspective” started with the first speaker, Prof. Giovanna Rassu (Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Sassari) who presented the potential of the nose-to-brain delivery in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. During the lunch served in the courtyard of the historical building of San Giovanni in Monte, location of the conference, 23 young reserchers had the chance to show and discuss part of their work in the poster session. In the afternoon, the session III continued with the lecture of Dr. Silvia Panzavolta (Department of Chemistry G. Ciamician, University di Bologna) who described some innovative formulations for the regeneration of bone tissue in osteoporosis patients. Afterward, it was the turn of Dr. Marco Albasini (CoC Farmaceutici, Italy) with the presentation “Topical ophthalmic drugs in older people: present and future” and Dr. Barbara Vigani (Department of Drug Sciences, University of Pavia) talked about new topical formulations for the treatment of bed sores. Finally, in the last part of the session three students presented their work in oral communications: Giulia Vanti from the University of Firenze, Barbara Giordani from the University of Bologna and Dalila Miele from the University of Pavia.
The meeting concluded with the poster award, the final remarks and the announcement of the 13th A.It.U.N. Meeting, which will be held in Ferrara under the responsibility of Laura Tiozzo Fasiolo, future chair of A.It.U.N.
The researchers awarded for the best posters were:
1. Dr. Francesca Pederzoli (University of Modena e Reggio Emilia): “Enzyme Replacement Therapy (ERT): An Open Challenge Of Nanomedicine”;
2. Dr. Marilena Saviano (University of Salerno): “Development of innovative FDM-3D-printing technologies for the production of patient-tailored medicines”;
3. Dr. Desirè Zanin (University of Padova): “CBD and desoxy-CBD comparison for transdermal delivery of cannabinoids in ethosomes”.
The meeting was kindly supported by the Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology of the University of Bologna, AAPS, the consortium TEFARCO Innova, the association ADRITELF, CRS Italy Chapter and was sponsored by CoC Farmaceutici, Farmacia del Pavaglione, Colorcon, Alfatest e MG2.
The A.It.U.N. roster thanks the scientific committee, the organization committee and all the sponsors for the help in the organization of the event.