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Drug Discovery and Development Center

New Drug Development Center

Affiliated with College of Pharmacy and Science


Introduction

This center was established in order to research and develop new medications, assist industry in the synthesis and application of new drugs, to test health food products, and to develop cosmetics. We aim to stimulate industry-academic cooperation, and improve the overall standard of the industry. Members of our research center include specialist teachers from the Department of Pharmacy, the Department of Medical Chemistry, the Department of Cosmetic Science, and the Department of Biotechnology, integrating the diverse capabilities within the College of Pharmacy and Science. We hope to enhance the competitiveness of both academia and industry, maintaining an orientation towards practical application.

Our center engages in cooperative international research with a number of renowned universities, including the University of Southern California (USC) in the United States, Tokushima Bunri University in Japan, and Shandong University and Jinan University in China. We have produced outstanding results in such cutting edge research fields as fungal genome regulation and secondary metabolite biosynthesis. The results of our research and development of active ingredients in medicinal fungi have been published in journals such as JACS.Org.Leff, and been awarded numerous technology transfers and patents.

Our specific mission is to integrate academic research with the development and mass production of new products for industry, to implement academic-industry cooperation, provide consultancy and testing services for industry, and to organize conferences to promote industry research and development capabilities.

Medium and small group framework

Our center is divided into a drug synthesis group, a biotechnology group, and an active medicinal ingredient assessment group, integrating the university’s resources, facilities and staff specialties in order to undertake and complete research projects.

  • Drug synthesis group: This group focuses on natural medicinal ingredients, and carries out artificial synthesis or biological conversion. Because natural medicines are difficult to obtain, produced in small quantities, and difficult to extract, this group explores the feasibility of using a biochemical engineering approach to produce compounds that work in the same way and display similar efficacy.
  • Biotechnology group: This group applies the experimental techniques of biotechnology to the research and development of new medicines and medicinal products. Natural Chinese herbs, for example, are often difficult to obtain or grow too slowly, which leads to high prices. It is possible to use biotech methods of artificial cultivation or extraction to produce these ingredients, which is of great assistance to their application in products at a reasonable price.
  • Medicinal ingredients evaluation group: This group engages in the evaluation of active ingredients in drugs, cosmetics and health food products, as well as stability testing and safety testing. We carry out in vitro experiments on product lines, cellular experiments, microbiological testing, and animal experiments, in order to assess product safety and efficacy. We also perform toxicity tests and antioxidant analyses.

Photos

Core technologies of the Center: Heterologous expression of fungal genes, fermentation techniques for Chinese caterpillar fungus, and biological conversion techniques for Chinese medicinal herbs

Core technologies of the Center: Heterologous expression of fungal genes, fermentation techniques for Chinese caterpillar fungus, and biological conversion techniques for Chinese medicinal herbs

Product series produced by the Center

Product series produced by the Center

Polymerase chain reaction

Polymerase chain reaction

Electrophoresis film camera system

Electrophoresis film camera system

Trial production solid fermentation tank

Trial production solid fermentation tank

Fermented liquid filtration experiment

Fermented liquid filtration experiment

Sterile work station and fungal culture experiments

Sterile work station and fungal culture experiments

Apparatus for concentrating under reduced pressure

Apparatus for concentrating under reduced pressure

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)

Liquid culture of fungal mycelium

Liquid culture of fungal mycelium

Culturing solid and liquid fungal mycelium

Culturing solid and liquid fungal mycelium

Culturing Mammal Cells

Culturing Mammal Cells

Center Laboratory

Center Laboratory

Center Meeting Room

Center Meeting Room

Drug Discovery and Development Center

Drug Discovery and Development Center

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