Rising Stars crystallization and solid state chemistry, lyophilization, anticounterfeiting measures, biomaterials in pharmaceuticals. FDA GMP. Dr. Tonglei Li from the Purdue University College of Pharmacy gave a familiar lecture on crystallization of API, using examples of chocolate crystal polymorphs and solubility issues of Ritonavir in 1998 due to unforeseen polymorphic structures. Some of our students at UIC are not aware of the type of unique training we are receiving from the College. In some cases, this training passively enters into our minds and subtly influences the way we think. This was never more apparent than when engineering professors from the University of Kentucky spoke on pharmaceutical anticounterfeiting methods. The prime anticounterfeiting method proposed during the lecture was a holographic image imprinted upon solid dosage forms. Said hologram would be produced using generally regarded as safe (GRAS) materials and is approved for human consumption. While the hologram is a great idea and embraced by the engineering students, our pharmacy students were able to cite potential problems in patient compliance due to a radical change in appearance, provided that proper pharmacist consultation is not performed during the drug dispensing. While the technical nuances of the anticounterfeiting method are under scrutiny, pharmacists already see potential and underlying problems. It is this type of communication and crossfunctional reasoning that the pharmaceutical industry needs to thrive, and pharmacists are an integral part of this FIP Net. The third and final day of the conference ended with a parenteral hands-on. We experienced first-hand lyophilization and sterilization processes required to manufacture injectable products. The entire process of gowning up in a bunny suit to enter a sterile environment was demonstrated, and students were given the opportunity to gown up. Most students were amazed to learn that to enter the ISO Class 3 environment costs $500 for the gowning materials, plus time to pay the employee. However, since humans are the greatest source of contamination in a clean environment this $500+ is essential to uphold the integrity of the product. Drawing upon our experiences as pharmacy students, the ISPE GLC Eli Lilly Training Conference and Tour was a great success for the attending students and for the UIC College of Pharmacy as well. This was the first time in 20 years that UIC has visited Eli Lilly and Company. Posted in our study lounge by our main lecture hall 134-1 are pictures from Eli Lilly tours in 1939 and 1968. I can say with great pride that during that weekend, students from the Classes of 2015 and 2016 joined the ranks of successful pharmacists from UIC and continued a tradition of ingenuity, curiosity, and excellence. We are a part of our collegeâs history that will live forever in the innovative minds of past, present, and future students at the UIC College of Pharmacy.
Bernard Hsu is a doctor of pharmacy candidate from Class of 2015. He is the president-elect for APhA-ASP and president of the UIC Chapter of the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE). ISPE is a campuswide student organization centered on career opportunities for students in the innovator and generic pharmaceutical industries, advised by two UIC College of Pharmacy alumni: Dr. Paul Pluta, bs â70, and Mr. Richard Poska, rph â76.
UIC at Eli Lilly through the decades
2012 visitors: Suhair Sunoqrot, Daanish Ashraf, Nicholas Liu, Nasir Sadeghi, Corinne Puchalla, Bernard Hsu, Surafel Mulugeta, Joe Gomez, Farzan Mohammadi, Josh Uvodich, Finny Abraham.
1973
1939
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