Pharmaceutical Observatory
The Pharmaceutical Observatory: Pharmaceutical Assistance Network of Pará, Faculty of Pharmacy, Institute of Health Sciences, Federal University of Pará, operates in the field of Social Pharmacy, having as a problem the inefficiency of pharmaceutical assistance policies and the irrational use of medicines. It presents itself as an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary space with the following themes: Governance, management and sustainability in health; Determinants of health and illness related to drugs and medications; Active learning through integrative teaching-service-community practices; Diffusion of technologies at different levels of health care. It has had as political projects and articulations: Research for SUS Program (PPSUS) - Shared Management in Health (Health Technologies and Economics / Technological Innovation in Health / Technological Innovation in Health products and services); Profile of prescription and use of medicines in professors, technical-administrative and students at UFPA: Campus Belém (2014); PROEX - Transversal Axis 2015: Technical-administrative and political-economic viability of an intermunicipal pharmaceutical assistance consortium in metropolitan region I: Belém; Ananindeua; Marituba; Benevides; Santa Barbara; PROPESP - Pibic 2015 (Edital nº 03/2015): Logical-conceptual model of clinical medication management (web software) applied to the health care network; Strengthening Pharmaceutical Assistance in Metropolitan Region I (Belém; Ananindeua; Marituba; Benevides; Santa Bárbara); in addition to holding seminars and workshops for reorienting pharmaceutical assistance.
Development of nanostructured preparations for the treatment of leishmaniasis
The PPGAF faculty seeks the development of nanostructured pharmaceutical preparations, containing amphotericin B, for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Considering the serious public health problem that is leishmaniasis, the development of topical, safe and effective formulations for the treatment of lesions caused by the disease is a viable aspect to improve patient compliance and reduce the incidence of cases in the Brazilian population.
Strategies for prevention of typhoid fever
With the aim of investigating new strategies for the prevention of typhoid fever, an acute bacterial disease that concerns national and global health agencies, PPGAF professors participate in a research project that focuses on using biotechnology to obtain and produce antigens for development vaccines. In Brazil, typhoid fever occurs in an endemic form, with overlapping epidemics, especially in the North and Northeast regions, reflecting the living conditions of its populations.
Development of a nanostructured carrier system for the treatment of melanoma
The PPGAF group of researchers participates in a research project for the development of a nanostructured carrier system containing Viscum album for the treatment of cutaneous melanoma. Meloma originates in melanocytes and represents 4% of the types of skin cancer, being extremely serious, since it offers a great possibility of metastasis. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy are the treatments of choice for more advanced stages of the disease; however both cause several undesirable effects in patients. Thus, the plant species Viscum album has been widely used in Europe as a complementary therapy in oncology, but there are some limiting factors for its effectiveness, such as solubility, stability and absorption. Therefore, the researchers of the project seek to create the nanostructured carrier system; chemically standardize the Viscum album hydroalcoholic extract; prepare and characterize nanostructured formulations containing Viscum album; evaluate the cytotoxic and antimetastatic activity of the extract and the formulations, in addition to evaluating the physical-chemical stability of the developed formulations.