Universit� degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

Awarding of prizes to the three Unimore doctors who won the first edition of the ‘Carlo Saetti - Opocrin S.p.A.’ competition

This morning, the Department of Life Sciences of Unimore hosted the award ceremony for the first edition of the ‘Carlo Saetti - Opocrin S.p.A.’ competition, which awards three degree prizes worth three thousand euros each to the best theses by students of the Unimore Master's Degree Programme in Pharmacy, Master's Degree Programme in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology and Biotechnology.

The award intended for graduates in the academic year 2022/2023 in the Master Degree Programme in Pharmacy went to Dott. ssa Vittoria Cantagallo for her thesis ‘Retrospective single-centre observational study in real life on the use of the antibiotics ceftaroline fosamil, ceftolozane/tazobactam and ceftazidime/avibactam’, the prize for graduates in the Master Degree Programme in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology went to Dott. ssa Sara Lusuardi with her thesis ‘ Supramolecular hydrogels reinforced with nanomaterials and loaded with nanoparticles and stem cells: potential application in Parkinson's disease ’ and the one reserved for graduates in the 2022/2023 academic year in the Bachelor Degree in Biotechnology was awarded to Fabiana Elefante for her thesis ‘ Tumour-microenvironment interaction: role of the transcription factor NF-Y and its alternative splicing variants ’.

‘We would like to thank the President and Vice-President of OPOCRIN ,’ remark the Presidents of the Degree Programme in Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, Prof. Federica Pellati and Prof. Barbara Ruozi , ‘and we would like to emphasise the importance of the collaboration between local pharmaceutical companies and the two Unimore Area Pharmacy curricula, which opens up opportunities for growth and employment for recent graduates’.

‘The collaboration between the Course of Study in CTF and the Opocrin company is a long-standing one; in fact, the company has been an active member of the Course's steering committee for years,’ adds Prof. Ruozi. ‘Pharmaceutical research plays an important role in the development of new molecules against hyperproliferative and neurodegenerative diseases that are the subject of the award-winning theses; in this context, the synergy between the University and pharmaceutical companies is fundamental’ continues Prof. Pellati.

"First of all, I would like to thank the Unimore Department of Life Sciences for the fruitful collaboration and for sharing this wonderful experience. To honour the memory of my father Carlo Saetti - CEO of Opocrin for many years - and to ensure that his spirit of dedication and passion lives on, we have decided to set up a degree award programme for the most deserving talents. These awards are not only a concrete help for the future generations of our territory, but also a tangible sign of recognition for those who, like my father and before him, my grandfather Pietro Bianchini, founder of Opocrin S.p.A., believed in the importance of scientific research to the point of producing life-saving products. They stand as a means to pass on to new generations the importance of commitment, passion and excellence, values that our family has embodied with dedication and generosity. In conclusion, this event is not just an act of commemoration, but an act of trust in young people, which allows us to look to the future with hope, keeping alive the memory of those who were able to make a difference‘ commented Opocrin CEO and Vice President Dr. Federico Saetti.

Since 1964, Opocrin has been researching, isolating and developing new and safer biological active ingredients for human use. From a small Research Laboratory founded by pharmacologist Prof. Pietro Bianchini Opocrin has today become a world leader in the production of heparin derivatives and a major player in the API sector.

Categorie: International - english, Notizie_eng