Chapman University’s School of Pharmacy opens new Center for Targeted Drug Delivery

Chapman University’s School of Pharmacy is demonstrating its commitment to research on drug therapy by opening its first center—the Center for Targeted Drug Delivery (CTDD).

“The CTDD will unite existing scientific and technical expertise in biomedical, pharmaceutical, and material science research,” said Ronald P. Jordan, R.Ph. FAPhA, dean of Chapman’s School of Pharmacy. “Our plan is to create a globally renowned interdisciplinary targeted drug delivery research collaborative with our extensive internal resources and our growing list of external partners.”

The goal is to create drugs with targeted delivery of therapeutic agents to a site in the body that allows maximum clinical benefit while sparing healthy cells and tissues from toxic side effects.  The typical path for creating a drug available for consumers takes an average of 12 years and involves many stages – each being a potential dead end. Usually the process begins in academic research leading to further research in commercial laboratories. Next comes manuscript publications and patents. From this point, a fraction will continue on into clinical trials and an even smaller fraction of these end up as successful drug candidates with approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“The use of modern day technologies to improve targeted drug delivery combined with innovative research, trial and commercial partnering approaches will lead to breakthrough advances in healthcare,” said Kamaljit Kaur, Ph.D, associate professor in the School of Pharmacy and also the director of the CTDD.

Chapman’s CTDD joins approximately 50 drug discovery centers across the United States. The CTDD will integrate established expertise in drug delivery, gene therapy, cancer biology, polymer science and nanotechnology at the School of Pharmacy, as well as from other colleges at Chapman University. The CTDD will also collaborate with nearby universities as well as the pharmaceutical industry.

The primary researchers of CTDD will focus on breast cancer, prostate cancer, anti-cancer and anti-viral drugs, human melanoma, advanced drug delivery using lipid and polymeric materials, and preclinical and clinical pharmacology of delivery systems. The CTDD is located at the Chapman University School of Pharmacy campus in Irvine, CA.

ABOUT CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL of PHARMACY (CUSP)
As Orange County’s first school of pharmacy, which received Candidate status approval from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education this past June, CUSP now has two cohorts of Doctor of Pharmacy students on campus set to graduate in 2018 and 2019.  CUSP empowers graduates and faculty to develop a deep scientific foundation for pharmacy, the drive for lifelong learning, and the compassion to optimize delivery of health care for those with diverse and unmet needs in Orange County and beyond through inter-professional practice models and community outreach and research. CUSP creates the culture and environment necessary to conduct collaborative basic, translational, clinical education and outcomes research and learning that make a difference in people’s lives.  CUSP intends to become a leader in innovative, inter-professional and personalized education of future pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists and pharmacy educators, while being recognized for excellence in collaborative, impactful research, scholarship and practice models that advance global health. The program delivers the Doctor of Pharmacy degree governed by the ACPE that leads to a license to practice pharmacy as governed by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP).  CUSP also delivers Masters of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Degrees. The school is located in Chapman University’s Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus in Irvine, CA. For more information, visit www.chapman.edu/pharmacy.

About Chapman University

As an academically distinguished center of learning, Chapman University attracts extraordinary students and faculty from around the globe. Its ten schools and colleges foster a vibrant intellectual community, and provide extensive opportunities for students to learn, grow

and discover alongside remarkable faculty. The University is home to some 8,000 students pursuing bachelor, master and doctoral degrees, and is alma mater to more than 40,000 alumni found throughout the United States and the world. Now celebrating its 155th year, Chapman is known for its distinguishing strengths in leadership and civic engagement, in the arts and entertainment disciplines, and in specialized sectors of technology and science. The University is comprised of its main campus in Orange, California, and the Rinker Health Science campus for graduate health science programs in Irvine, California. Visit us at www.chapman.edu.

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