A host of business people will learn about collaborative working opportunities and have the chance to meet research experts when they attend a free event at De Montfort University (DMU) Leicester next month.

The Science and Technology Innovation Day on 23 September will be hosted by DMU's Pharmaceutical Technologies Group, which is involved in the research and development of products for the pharmaceutical, food and healthcare industries. 

Designed to showcase opportunities for innovative product development and process design, the main themes of the day will be drug delivery and product design, material processing and manufacture, analytical science and biomaterials, biosensing and microbiology.

Guest speaker Dr Jesse Alton from TeraView Limited (commercial developers of terahertz instruments) will open the day by introducing DMU's terahertz facility, which is the first in the East Midlands (and is sponsored by *East Midlands Development Agency (emda)). The unique 3D imaging and spectroscopic facility offers a non-destructive and non-invasive diagnostic and inspection system, which provides opportunities across a broad range of industry sectors.

With the ability to gain spectroscopic information and 3D image maps with unique spectroscopic signatures not found at other wavelengths, terahertz spectroscopy and imaging has the potential to identify problems before materials go into production and resolve many of the questions left unanswered by complementary techniques, such as optical imaging and infrared.

The Pharmaceutical Technologies Group is actively researching applications for manufacturing process efficiency aimed at saving companies both time and money.

Delegates at the Science and Innovation Day will have the opportunity to learn about a range of fascinating research projects and have a preview of the university's plans for a new Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) facility. GMP is part of the pharmaceutical industry's quality system for the manufacture and testing of pharmaceutical products and medical devices.

Professor Larry Goodyer, Head of the Leicester School of Pharmacy at DMU, said: "We are very proud of the developments in our Pharmaceutical Technologies Group over the last few years. Recent funding opportunities and important grants from both the research councils and regional enterprise schemes have allowed us to expand and enhance our facilities. Furthermore, the postgraduate courses in Pharmaceutical Quality by Design that are being launched this year are an exciting opportunity to support the pharmaceutical and other related industries."

DMU's MSc in Pharmaceutical Quality by Design (QbD) course has been created for graduates in the pharmaceutical sciences, chemistry, engineering and physics, in response to changes in the international pharmaceutical industry. The industry is moving towards more robust approaches which ensure that quality is built into all aspects of the development and commercialisation process, rather than waiting for post-production drug testing.

QbD is based around the application of product and process sciences, from early to late stages of the product development cycle, to provide accelerated regulatory submission pathways for new drug applications.

The course, which is studied over 12 months full-time, has been developed by De Montfort University in direct response to a major initiative being driven and supported by the United States, the European Union and Japanese regulatory authorities to improve drug Quality by Design.

DMU has a strong track record in working with businesses, enabling them to benefit from its wide range of scientific knowledge and technical expertise. DMU's five faculties have successful partnerships with companies in areas as diverse as healthcare, manufacturing, electronics, software engineering, banking, fashion, journalism and retail.