Featured Post from VCU College of Engineering

The Value of a Cure and Do All Americans Benefit from Medical Breakthroughs?

Mar 6, 2017

2 min

B. Frank Gupton, Ph.D.Thomas D. Roper, Ph.D.

On February 28, 2017 policymakers, health officials, industry representatives and patient advocates were meeting in Washington to discuss the ‘value of a cure’ – the costs, the public health benefits and how America will move forward following the passage of the 21st Century Cures legislation.


The Act, which was signed in December promises to accelerate funding for biomedical research while it also loosens regulations governing drugs and medical equipment and devices.


Innovations in medical research and technology have produced cures and breakthrough therapies to overcome diseases that were once considered a death sentence. Polio is preventable with a vaccine, HIV is managed with a daily drug regimen, and Hepatitis C now has a cure.


But are these breakthroughs reaching all communities? How can we balance the high costs of drug development with affordability? And what can we do to ensure that new cures continue to be developed?


This is where Virginia Commonwealth University can help. Our experts are thought leaders and are some of the go-to opinions in this field.


Dr. Thomas Roper is a professor and the director of the Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering at the VCU School of Engineering. Thomas specializes in efforts to bring engineering and science closer to patients who utilize medicines via novel technologies.


Dr. Frank Gupton is a professor and the chair of the Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering at the VCU School of Engineering. He leads the school’s Medicines for All project that is striving to reduces costs of treatment for AIDS. He is an award-winning researcher and an expert in his field.


Both Dr. Roper and Dr. Gupton are available to speak with media regarding this very important issue. Simply click on either of their icons to arrange an interview.


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B. Frank Gupton, Ph.D.

B. Frank Gupton, Ph.D.

Floyd D. Gottwald, Jr. Chair in Pharmaceutical Engineering; Chair, Professor, Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering

Professor Gupton's research is focused on the development of new technologies that will streamline organic synthesis

Cross-Coupling CatalysisFlow Chemistry / Continual Chemical ProcessingOrganic Synthesis in Pharmaceutical Applications
Thomas D. Roper, Ph.D.

Thomas D. Roper, Ph.D.

Director, Pharmaceutical Engineering| Engineering Foundation Professor, Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering

Dr. Roper specializes in efforts to bring engineering and science closer to patients who utilize medicines via novel technologies.

Metabolic Engineering and Biocatalysis3D Printing of Dose FormsLong Acting Therapy DevelopmentNanomaterials and Particle SciencesContinuous Chemical Reaction Engineering

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Featuring: B. Frank Gupton, Ph.D. A former process development executive in the pharmaceutical industry, B. Frank Gupton, Ph.D., was coaxed out of retirement to teach in the Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University. Gupton, whose research focuses on improving health care by making pharmaceutical production cleaner and more cost-effective, is founder and CEO of the Medicines for All Institute (M4ALL), based in the VCU College of Engineering. The institute began with a simple idea: expand global access to lifesaving medications by producing them more efficiently. The institute’s team of chemical engineers and chemists demonstrated compelling results with its first target, the anti-HIV/AIDS drug nevirapine. As the researchers continue to work on additional therapies for HIV/AIDS treatment and other diseases, M4ALL is now working with a manufacturer in South Africa and partnering with the government of Ivory Coast to bring their advances to the places they are most needed. VCU Engineering’s experts are available to speak about how M4ALL is transforming pharmaceutical engineering and improving access to medicines around the world. Gupton is the Floyd D. Gottwald Junior Chair in Pharmaceutical Engineering, professor and chair of the Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering. An award-winning researcher and National Academy of Inventors Fellow with multiple patents, he is an expert in his field. Simply click on his icon to arrange an interview.

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