CDI-Type II: Cyber-enabled engineering of pharmaceutical products

将一种新发现的药物转化为患者服用时具有预期性能的药品需要很长时间和高成本，这是导致新药价格高企的重要因素。这项工作需要设计正确的成分组合和形式，以及有效和稳健的制造过程。这些活动现在主要是通过使用传统设备和依靠过去经验的试错方法进行的。业界和学术界普遍认为，要改变目前的模式，需要新的基础科学和工程理解、新的工程方法和基于计算机的预测工具。此外，该行业还需要一支接受过这些新方法和工具培训的员工队伍，以加速预期的转型。这个项目将满足这两个需求。它将创建一套具有代表性的工具、方法和教育材料，并建立一个名为pharmaHUB的中心技术，通过虚拟协作共享和发展这项技术。该项目将为最重要的片剂生产操作的设计和操作建立一个预测模型库，将开发基于计算机的模型来预测药物产品（如片剂）如何分解和溶解，并将建立虚拟患者群体模型，用于预测特定药物在体内运输的有效性。将通过对五种特定药品的案例研究来证明这种方法的使用。基于NSF赞助的HUBzero中间件，pharmaHUB将通过web和互联网提供对所有创建和贡献的工具、方法和教育内容的开放访问，允许轻松下载或直接在服务器群上执行应用程序。它还将允许该领域的研究人员以简单和透明的方式轻松上传和安装他们的开发、讲座和教育材料，从而大大加速社区知识的增长。该项目将借鉴诸如美国国家科学基金会结构化有机微粒系统研究委员会以及国家制药技术和教育研究所的研究成果，其中共同发起人积极参与。更广泛的影响这些工具和相关的教育材料可在pharmaHUb上公开获取，将成为制药工程新课程和学位课程的核心组成部分，适合学生和专业人士。

0941302ReklaitisIntellectual MeritThe long time and high cost of translating a newly discovered drug to a drug product that will have the desired performance properties when taken by the patient, are significant factors contributing to the high price of new drugs. The work requires designing the right combination and form of ingredients as well as efficient and robust manufacturing processes. These activities are now carried out largely by trial and error means using traditional equipment and relying on past experience. It is widely recognized by the industry and academia that to change the current mode requires new fundamental science and engineering understanding, new engineering methods and computer-based predictive tools. Additionally, the industry needs a workforce that is trained in these new methods and tools to accelerate the desired transformation. This project will address both of these needs. It will create a representative set of tools, methods and education materials and build a hub technology, called pharmaHUB for sharing and growing the technology through virtual collaboration. The project will implement a library of predictive models for the design and operation of the most important tablet manufacturing operations, will develop computer-based models for predicting how a drug product, such as a tablet, will break apart and dissolve, and will build virtual patient population models that can be used to predict how effectively a specific drug is transported within the body. The use of this methodology will be demonstrated through case studies with five specific drug products. Based on NSF sponsored HUBzero middleware, pharmaHUB will provide open access via the web and internet to all of the created and contributed tools, methods and education content, allowing easy downloading or direct execution of applications on the server farm. It will also allow researchers in the field to easily upload and install their developments, lectures and educational materials in a simple and transparent fashion thus dramatically accelerating community knowledge growth. The project will draw from the results generated in research efforts such as the NSF ERC on Structured Organic Particulate Systems as well as the work of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology and Education, in which the co-pi's are actively involved. Broader ImpactThe tools and associated education materials, openly accessible on pharmaHUb, will serve as core components of new courses and degree programs in pharmaceutical engineering suitable for both students and professionals.