The last day of the SMART project’s Summer School, organized by Consorzio Valutazioni Biologiche e Farmacologiche moved to Canosa di Puglia, at the headquarters of Farmalabor, an Apulian company founded in 2001 with the aim of enhancing and spreading the culture of galenic formulations. To do so, it manufactures and markets raw materials (active ingredients and excipients), packaging and equipment necessary for the production of galenic drugs by pharmacies, hospitals, and national and international pharmaceutical companies.

“The preparation of specific formulations suitable for children,” states Prof. Cosimo Altomare of the University of Bari, “is one of the topics included in the Summer School dedicated to provide skills in the field of paediatric medicines, in which our department is able to contribute significantly. Students, medical doctors and pharmacists coming from Poland as part of the exchange program promoted and funded by the European Commission, will deal with the practical aspects related to this field by spending a full day in the laboratories of an Apulia company”.

“Having hosted the initiative related to the European SMART project has a great symbolic value for us at Farmalabor“, emphasized Dr. Sergio Fontana, sole director of the company and President of the health section of Confindustria BARI-BAT. “It is the evidence that institutions, companies, research organizations and communities are allied in the improvement of the galenic formulations and in its spread. In addition, through the sharing of experiences, we have approached medical doctors and pharmacists, who were able to see first-hand the opportunities related to the world of personalised medicine“.

Dedicated to the topic of paediatric formulations, the closing day was focused on the importance of the concept that the pharmaceutical form as well as the dosage of medicines for children should take into account the specific characteristics of the different age groups, to ensure more and more the use of the medicine with the most high efficacy and the most suitable security. The pharmaceutical formulation, that is the final form that the drug will take on the market is, in fact, a critical point because a formulation not properly designed can result in a treatment failure of an active ingredient.

“In addition, the new European legislation on paediatric formulations leads pharmaceutical companies to develop targeted products and dedicated trials for the paediatric age, which have to be described in details in the pediatric investigation plan (PIP)” commented Dr. Viviana Giannuzzi, responsible for the regulatory activities and ethical procedures at the  Gianni Benzi Pharmacological Research Foundation which follows students in their learning pathway.