Michael J. Pikal was a professor at the UConn School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SoPPS) and a world expert in Pharmaceutical freeze-drying. UConn hosted the second biennial symposium last month, following the first in 2024, in Pikal’s honor and to celebrate his groundbreaking research on freeze-drying.
The symposium started with a Hands-on Basic Lyophilization Short Course, taught by UConn SoPPS Professor Robin Bogner. This course took place on August 17 and 18 and included lectures and hands on lab focused on freeze-drying pharmaceuticals.
Following the hands-on course, there were two-days of presentations and panel discussions between leaders from across the pharmaceutical field focused on their own advancements in the field of freeze-drying.
The interactive panel discussions brought together close to a hundred attendees including scientists from over 25 pharmaceutical companies, such as AstraZeneca, Merck, Eli Lilly, BMS and Pfizer, as well as professors from seven universities including UConn, the University of Minnesota, the University of Texas at Austin, and Purdue University.
Among the 13 speakers at last month’s symposium was Serguei Tchessalov, Owner of SN Lyophilization, who served as the keynote speaker.
Bogner and fellow SoPPS Professor Xiuling Lu, along with a committee of scientists from several pharmaceutical companies, organized this symposium for the second time. They hope to continue the event for years to come as a way to honor a prolific leader in the area of freeze-drying.
There are more than ten pharmaceutical companies that sponsored the symposium, making the scale of the meeting exceed the first one. Additionally, donations to the Pikal Fellowship Fund will support graduate students who work in the field of freeze-drying.
“It helps keep Professor Pikal’s name alive,” Bogner said. “It also helps graduate students and the next generation.”
