Pharmaceutical technology

The Pharmaceutical Technology discipline was established in the academic year 1993-1994, its presence being imposed by the curriculum of the third year of the Faculty of Pharmacy, which has been operating since 1991 within UMF “Victor Babeş” Timişoara.

From 1993 to 2003, Professor Valeriu Popoviciu, PhD. coordinated the discipline activity and from 2003 to 2015, the management of the discipline was taken over by Lecturer Lavinia Vlaia, PhD, under the guidance of Professor Dumitru Lupuleasa, PhD, as Adjunct Professor. From 2015 to the present, Prof. Dr. Pharm. Lavinia Vlaia coordinates the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology.

The educational offer of the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology includes courses and practical work within the study programs Pharmacy (in Romanian), Pharmacy (in French) and Pharmacy Assistant (Deva). The department’s dedicated teaching staff is responsible for training, in the field of Pharmaceutical Technology, students from the 4th year of the Pharmacy study program (in Romanian and French) over two semesters, as well as students from the 2nd year of the Pharmacy Assistant (Deva) study program over two semesters. In addition, the teaching staff of the department are in charge of organizing and evaluating the internship activity (summer internship and specialty internship) of students from the undergraduate study programs of the Faculty of Pharmacy.

Pharmaceutical technology, traditionally called Galenic Pharmacy, is the basic discipline for pharmacist training, regardless of the field in which the future professional will operate. In a classic manner, Galenic Pharmacy is defined as “the science and art of preparing, storage, and presenting medicine”. Pharmaceutical technology is currently considered to be a complex science that studies theoretical and practical notions regarding the formulation, preparation / manufacture, storage and dispensing, and quality evaluation of drug delivery systems.

The main objective of Pharmaceutical Technology is to find for each active pharmaceutical ingredient the most suitable presentation for the treatment of a given disease, because the administration of an active substance requires a pharmaceutical system to transport and deliver it in appropriate quantity at action site. Achieving this goal requires knowledge of the theoretical and practical notions of physico-chemical, technological, pharmacological and biological factors involved in the design, formulation, preparation and control of drugs in pharmacy and industry. Pharmaceutical technology explains the methods of preparation of each pharmaceutical dosage form based on multidisciplinary knowledge, correlating the formulation, preparation and therapeutic effect of the drug. These considerations support the recognized fact that Pharmaceutical Technology has an important place in the professional training of the future pharmacist, as it is based on notions acquired from other disciplines, in order to be able to address the overall issue of a drug.

The objective of the Pharmaceutical Technology discipline is to ensure the cognitive and applicative-practical competencies regarding the formulation, preparation, quality control, conditioning and storage of liquid dosage forms as homogeneous dispersed systems, sterile dosage forms (injectable, infusible, ophthalmic), extractive dosage forms, and of dosage forms as heterogeneous dispersed systems (liquid – colloidal dispersions, emulsions, suspensions, aerosols;  semisolid – semisolid preparations for cutaneous application; solid – cutaneous and transdermal patches, suppositories, powders, capsules, uncoated and coated tablets, modified and controlled release dosage forms), both in pharmacy and in pharmaceutical industry.

The course and laboratory activities of Pharmaceutical Technology ensure both the knowledge and understanding of all theoretical aspects regarding the formulation, preparation, conditioning and preservation of pharmaceutical forms, as well as providing students with the necessary skills in preparation and pharmacotechnical control methods currently used to obtain and evaluate the quality of dosage forms.

The teaching staff of the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology hold courses and practical works within two master’s programs of the Faculty of Pharmacy: Cosmetology and Dermopharmacy and Applied Phytotherapy.

In addition, since 2019 the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology offers the possibility of conducting doctoral studies under the coordination of prof. univ. dr. farm. habil. Lavinia Vlaia (certificate of habilitation in the field of doctoral studies in Pharmacy and affiliation with the Doctoral School of UMFVBT).

In addition, the Pharmaceutical Technology discipline provide postgraduate education throughout the academic year in form of training courses for resident pharmacists and pharmacy professionals.

The scientific research activity carried out within the Pharmaceutical Technology discipline consists mainly in technological and biopharmaceutical studies for the development of innovative, modern pharmaceutical dosage forms or for the optimization of the already existing ones, for different active pharmaceutical ingredients. These studies also involve students from the 4th and 5th years of undergraduate studies, master’s students and doctoral students, for the completion of their undergraduate, dissertation and doctoral theses. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the research conducted, the members of the department collaborate with institutions in the country and abroad.