The project “Collaborative Initiative for Skin Research”, funded by the Fund for Bilateral Relations of the EEA Grants Portugal has reached its end in December 2024.
Launched in January 2022, this groundbreaking initiative aimed to enhance pre-clinical evaluation of transdermal drug development through advanced skin models. This initiative sought not only to provide better and more detailed information for researchers on several skin models, but also to compare and evaluate these against standard methods using dermal formulations.
A result of the dynamic partnership between REQUIMTE (Portugal) and UiT Arctic University (Norway), the project facilitated valuable exchanges, including collaborative visits and a doctoral student internship in Tromsø, Norway. These activities provided the Portuguese team with hands-on experience in both human skin models and cutting-edge mimetic skin models developed by their Norwegian counterparts. These activities allowed the Portuguese research team to gain a deeper understanding of the human skin model and a realistic mimetic skin model developed by the Norwegian partners. Throughout the initiative, researchers engaged in scientific discussions, knowledge-sharing, and networking, culminating in a scientific seminar attended by 30 participants from academia, students and researchers. Furthermore, the results were presented at the E2BRN conference during the 53rd Annual ESDR Meeting in the in Lisbon. A scientific article—in preparation for submission to the International Journal of Pharmaceutics—highlights key research gaps and proposes measures to overcome the current state of the art in the development of an efficient pre-clinical evaluation of new transdermic formulations.
Beyond its scientific contributions, CoSki has strengthened Portugal-Norway relations, laying the foundation for future joint research projects and European funding opportunities. This initiative has not only pushed the boundaries of transdermal drug research, but also powered a lasting collaboration poised for further innovation in pharmaceutical science.