Master Thesis

We are now looking for a master student to join our pharmaceutical and analytical development team to explore and develop Nasal deposition of spray dried nasal powder formulations using Alberta Idealized Nasal Inlet . You will be working in a multi-functional team with expert scientists at our facility in Uppsala.

The majority pharmaceuticals delivered nasally are used for the treatment of diseases that stem from the nasal cavity e.g., nasal congestion or allergic reactions. These pharmaceuticals are typically in the form of a solution or suspension and delivered from a liquid nasal spray into the nasal cavity where they act locally. However, some nasal sprays do exist that are aimed for systemic delivery. The nasal, or respiratory, route has several advantages for systemic absorption such as high vascularization, blood flow and relatively large surface area, which can provide for excellent drug permeability.

Aerodynamic particle size distribution (APSD) is used to characterize how particles travel in an airstream. For both orally inhaled and nasal drug products it is of importance to determine the APSD to predict where in the respiratory tract the particles (likely) will deposit. For orally inhaled pharmaceuticals, a small aerodynamic size (below 5 microns) is required to target and treat lower respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD. For nasal drug products, where the dose is supposed to deposit in the nasal cavity, the aerodynamic size is required to be much larger to instead avoid lung exposure.

An idealized nasal inlet, the Alberta Idealized Nasal Inlet (AINI), has been developed to mimic in vivo deposition of nasal formulations in the nose and throat. It can speed up the development of a safe and effective pharmaceutical without the use of laboratory animals. However, the drug deposition in the various regions of the AINI have been found to be highly variable and is sensitive to factors such as the angle of the nasal device when actuating and the pre-treatment (coating) of the nasal inlet.

The aim of this project is to develop a robust procedure for analysing the nasal deposition of nasal powders using the AINI and to determine the main parameters that affects the regional nasal deposition.  

The master thesis project (30 credits) is suited for pharmacy or engineering (bachelor in chemistry/biomedicine, or similar) students with a special interest, or curiosity, in pharmaceutical and analytical development.

Basic (written) Swedish is required. Fluent in English (reading/writing) is meriting.

We will review applications and conduct interviews on an ongoing basis, so take the opportunity to send in your application as soon as possible, but no later than December 7th. If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch with Head of Pharmaceutical Development Mattias Springfelter, mattias.springfelter@orexo.com, or Supervisor Erika Billinger, PhD, erika.billinger@orexo.com

About Orexo 
Orexo is a Swedish pharmaceutical company with over 25 years of experience developing improved pharmaceuticals based on proprietary formulation technologies that meet large medical needs. On the US market, Orexo provides innovative treatment solutions for patients suffering from opioid use disorder and adjacent diseases. Products targeting other therapeutic areas are developed and commercialized worldwide with leading partners. Total net sales in 2023 amounted to SEK 638,8 million, and the number of employees to 115. Orexo is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm's main list and is available as an ADR on OTCQX (ORXOY) in the US.

For more information about Orexo please visit, www.orexo.com. You can also follow Orexo on
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