pharmaceutical manufacturing innovation | The University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) is doing its part to increase the nation’s production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). In partnership with the API Innovation Center, the university received more than $1 million in federal funding to support the development of the API Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Hub on UMSL’s campus. The initiative is designed to strengthen and innovate domestic production of APIs, including reshoring production of five essential generic ones: propofol (sedation and anesthesia), bupivacaine (local anesthetic), albuterol (asthma and COPD treatment), metoprolol (cardiovascular treatment) and lorazepam (anxiety and seizure disorders). This funding empowers UMSL and our partners to advance innovative manufacturing technologies, protect public health and build a highly skilled workforce for the future,” UMSL Chancellor Kristin Sobolik says.
early cancer detection
Currently, endometrial cancer diagnosis requires an invasive biopsy that comes with the risk of false negatives. Researchers at Washington University and Siteman Cancer Center have found an imaging method that could provide accurate, noninvasive detection of precancerous lesions and early cancers. The team used optical coherence tomography (OCT), which detects differences in how tissue reflects light and acquires high-resolution 3D images. With a custom probe, it was able to create an optical biopsy by taking images of the entire endometrial cavity. “With our three-dimensional OCT imaging system combined with machine learning, we can image the entire endometrial cavity in 2 to 3 seconds and may have a potential to achieve higher sensitivity than random biopsy sampling,” says Quing Zhu, the Edwin H. Murty Professor of Engineering at the WashU McKelvey School of Engineering.
leader in pediatrics
Saint Louis University Professor of Pediatrics Dr. Ajay Jain has earned the St. Louis Metropolitan Medicine Award of Merit. Jain was recognized for his work in pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition, including research, clinical innovation and physician leadership. Jain serves as chief of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, and he has a secondary appointment in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology. He also serves as president of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. “It is genuinely humbling,” he says. “Being recognized by colleagues in this community means a great deal to me. This award feels less like an individual honor and more like recognition of the work we have done together, focused on improving care for children and advancing scientific medicine.
combating gut pathogens
Researchers at WashU Medicine have identified a shared vulnerability across gut pathogens. The discovery could lead to a single vaccine against E. coli, Shigella and other causes of severe diarrhea. The study found that diarrhea-causing pathogens rely on three closely related enzymes to get through the gut’s protective mucus layer and cause infection. The team was able to use antibodies to target these enzymes and block the bacteria from penetrating the intestines. “These bacteria have evolved right alongside us, and they’ve gotten very good at breaching our defenses,” says Dr. James M. Fleckenstein, a professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and co-senior author on the study. “If we can block that first step, we have a chance to stop these infections before they ever take hold.”
