Periodic Reporting for period 1 - AGePOP (Drug Absorption in Geriatric Patients and Older People: a training network innovating drug development for the advanced age population)
Reporting period: 2021-01-01 to 2022-12-31
There are almost 91 million people aged 65 or over in Europe. They make up the advanced age population, and represent 20% of the total European population. Older age is accompanied by an increase in the number and complexity of illnesses, including that of chronic diseases, making the advanced age population the key end-users of oral drugs. Yet, these end-users are disregarded in the drug development process. Clinical evaluation of oral formulations is typically carried out on healthy adults aged 18-55 and do not take into account the changed physiological needs of older people and geriatric patients. In Europe’s ageing society, the amount of people aged 65 or over is expected to grow to almost 130 million by 2050. Regulatory agencies such as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) are starting to prioritise this pressing issue, confirming the need for safe and effective drugs for the advanced age population.
AGePOP, a EU-funded H2020 project on Drug Absorption in Geriatric Patients and Older People, will lay the foundation of oral drug product development focusing on the advanced age population. As a research and training network, AGePOP brings together 13 organisations from 5 European countries, with leading experts in oral drug absorption and development, clinical research and practice, mentoring and training.
AGePOP, a EU-funded H2020 project on Drug Absorption in Geriatric Patients and Older People, will lay the foundation of oral drug product development focusing on the advanced age population. As a research and training network, AGePOP brings together 13 organisations from 5 European countries, with leading experts in oral drug absorption and development, clinical research and practice, mentoring and training.
During this first reporting period and despite the disruption of the Covid pandemic, the consortium was able to recruit all 11 ESRs. The last ESR started their position in January 2022. All Work Packages (WPs) started their activities, with the ESRs conducting their research within WP1 GI physiological characteristics and in vitro tools and WP2 Intestinal transport and in silico tools. The ESRs were also involved in WP3 Training and WP5 Coordination, and contributed actively to WP4 Outreach.
The AGePOP research starts right at the bedside of geriatric patients and older people. The physiological characteristics of their gastrointestinal tract and its behaviour upon intake of oral drugs, which are currently unknown, will be studied and compared with those of younger, healthy adults. This new knowledge, combined with the development of innovative methodologies, will enable the researchers to suggest new drug formulations for safe and effective administration to the advanced age population. By the end of the project in 2024, they will also develop a mobile test kit to collect large data sets on gastric emptying and the transit time of oral formulations, and an absorption risk calculator to assess the probability of side effects in geriatric patients and older people already during drug development. Through these innovations, people like Claire could benefit from drugs that take into account bodily changes due to advanced age.