Gift Will Help UB Train More Pharmacy Students to Understand How the Body Interacts with Drugs

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Sankyo Pharma Development is giving $120,000 to the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences for graduate fellowships, as a response to the shortage of qualified researchers in the study of body/drug interactions.

The gift will support stipends, tuition and research funding for four students during the next four years.

"We are very pleased to provide financial support for graduate fellowships to the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences," said Daniel Salazar, Ph.D. '89, executive director of clinical pharmacology and pharmacokinetics at Sankyo. "We look forward to the continued success of the school and collaborating with UB."

Sankyo Pharma Development of Edison, N.J., is a U.S. subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sankyo Co., Ltd., the second-largest pharmaceutical company in Japan. Researchers are focused on developing breakthrough therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular conditions, metabolic disorders, infection and cancer.

"The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences trains graduate students in areas such as drug delivery, drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and pharmacogenomics," said William J. Jusko, Ph.D., professor and chair of the department. "These are all related to how the body handles drugs and how drugs produce therapeutic and toxic effects."

Noting that "there is a shortage of scientists in these areas," Wayne K. Anderson, dean of the pharmacy school, said "many people in the pharmaceutical industry are looking for ways to help universities train more students. We are grateful that Sankyo has directed some of its resources to help UB students train in these areas."

Last year Sankyo gave $100,000 to UB's School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences to support its teaching, training and research, as well as for equipment purchases in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Ranked among the top pharmacy schools in the United States and considered one of the most prestigious, the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences was founded in 1886, and is the second-oldest component of the University at Buffalo. It is the only pharmacy school in the State University of New York system.