Medicines for All: Revolutionizing the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain

On Oct. 1, more than 100 guests gathered to hear about VCU’s leadership of an effort to innovate pharmaceutical manufacturing and drug discovery in Central Virginia. 

The Discovery Series RVA event featured B. Frank Gupton, Ph.D., the founder and CEO of VCU’s Medicines for All Institute (M4ALL), and Ryan Littich, Ph.D., the institute’s head of research and development, in discussion with Mike Osberg, the institute’s chief commercial and strategy officer. 

"M4ALL was founded with the idea that the technical strategies and skills of the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry – when combined with innovative business models and a focus on access for patients – could make an impact in ensuring that people can get access to the medicines they need,” Osberg said. “M4All aims to develop manufacturing processes that lower API costs, improve supply chain resilience and lower the environmental footprint of APIs critical to patients around the world.” 

Dr. Gupton, a professor at VCU who holds joint appointments in the Departments of Chemistry and the Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering, shared the expansion of work in recent years to processes for drugs just entering clinical trials that can help researchers develop and launch potential therapies using optimal conditions: lower costs, lower environmental footprints and improved quality and supply chain characteristics for the ingredients they need for potential drugs. 

“To date, our mission has primarily focused on improving access to drugs that are already available in the market,” said Dr. Gupton, who holds the Floyd D. Gottwald Chair of Pharmaceutical Engineering and serves as chair of the Chemical and Life Science Engineering Department. “Our work starts by looking at how those drugs are made and developing improved manufacturing processes and putting them in the hands of organizations with the capacity to deliver mission-relevant volumes.” 

M4ALL has also been focusing on small molecule therapeutics, which have seen a renaissance of their own as researchers develop technologies for achieving higher potency (lower doses) and higher selectivity (fewer side effects). The complexity of these small molecules drives higher production costs, which M4ALL saw as an opportunity to help create the molecules needed for research and discovery of new potential therapies. 

“The last 20 years have witnessed a sea change in new therapeutic modalities — the number of categorically new interventions in clinical development and approvals has increased dramatically,” Dr. Littich explained. “M4ALL’s innovation capabilities are well-suited to mitigate the expense and ensure wider access for patients to these innovations.”  

Discovery Series RVA was launched by the MCV Foundation in 2019 to promote VCU Health’s excellence in patient care, education, and research. It expands upon the work of the foundation’s signature Discovery Series program in Williamsburg and highlights areas of distinction and provides attendees an opportunity to interact with top faculty and leaders from across the MCV Campus. 

A volunteer host committee works with foundation staff members to advise on potential event topics and widen the invitation. The Richmond host committee includes Tenley and Wyatt Beazley; Maura and Mike Bisceglia; Anne and Roger Boevé; Susan and Steve Gaidos; Gail and Earl Johnson; Patricia and David Lyons; Becky Perdue; and Judi and Jim Starkey. 

The next Discovery Series RVA event is Nov. 14 and will feature a program highlighting recent advances in pulmonary treatment and care at VCU Health including exciting news about the recently approved re-launch of VCU Health’s lung transplant program. 

If you’re interested in learning more about the Discovery Series RVA, please contact Brian Thomas, executive vice president and chief development officer for the MCV Foundation.