Dissertation: Staffan Berg: Oral delivery of macromolecules formulated with permeation enhancers

Oral administration of macromolecular drugs, in particular peptides, proteins and oligonucleotides, is still a major challenge for pharmaceutical researchers. After more than 90 years of studies, the bioavailability of such molecules remains low and variable.

In the SweDeliver project "Study of interactions between permeability enhancers, GI physiology and macromolecular drugs for improved design of oral dosage forms", Staffan Berg has conducted research aiming to generate new knowledge on the mechanisms behind the large intra- and individual variation often observed during oral administration of biological substances.

In his thesis, Staffan Berg presents the results of studies with sodium caprate, an often used permeation enhancer to increase absorption of biological drugs in the gastrointestinal tract. The absorption of model substances was studied in animals to better understand how drug absorption can be increased and made more reliable.

Staffan Berg studied pharmacy first at Åbo Akademi (BSc) and later at University of Helsinki (MSc). His Master’s Thesis was on a targeted anticancer drug delivery system performed at the University of Utah. After graduation Staffan Berg joined a rotational ­trainee program at AstraZeneca where he did placements in biopharmaceutics, project management, and early phase formulation. Before joining the Drug Delivery group Staffan Berg worked as a senior scientist in biopharmaceutics at AstraZeneca.

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