News Archive
Advances in Drugs
Discovery of new drugs to address ongoing medical challenges requires the involvement of interdisciplinary teams of researchers bringing together relevant disciplines in a seamless manner. In the next lecture of the UCC’s Research Highlights Lecture Series on Friday, March 27th 2009, Professor Anita Maguire will discuss how the developments at the Chemistry-Biology interface over the past decade have revolutionised the ways in which new drugs are discovered.
Traditional approaches often involved the isolation of a component from a medicinally active plant and then use of the natural product or a derivative thereof for medicinal application. “However, design of drugs for a particular purpose is now feasible through technical advances at the Chemistry-Biology interface”, explained Professor Maguire.
The pharmaceutical sector is critical to the Irish economy with 14 of the top 15 companies in the world having sites in Ireland, accounting for 48% of national exports in 2007. The sector is undergoing major strategic change with diversification of its activities to include R&D in addition to the well developed manufacturing role, and rapid growth of the biopharma and formulation sectors. PhD graduates with broad interdisciplinary understanding are critical to underpin the future development of this sector.
Anita Maguire is Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Director of the The Analytical and Biological Chemistry Research Facility (ABCRF) at UCC. The Facility was established under PRTLI3 with 1200m2 in the Cavanagh Pharmacy Building which opened in 2006. The ABCRF, together with the School of Pharmacy, brings together researchers across all aspects of the pharmaceutical sciences, addressing interdisciplinary research challenges. Extensive interaction with the pharmaceutical sector, both in Ireland and internationally, is a key element of research in the ABCRF.
Professor Maguire will highlight the powerful state-of-the-art research infrastructure in the ABCRF enabled through PRTLI3 and PRTLI4, and show how this is being applied to important research themes at the Chemistry-Biology interface.
To celebrate 10 years of PRTLI investment in UCC, and to mark its contribution to the development of the University, the region and the nation, the UCC Research Highlights Lecture Series aims to convey to a wide audience the significance and impact of PRTLI investment in UCC.