Thesis Predictive segment-based IVR

Are you passionate about science, technology, and innovation? At QPharma, we offer exciting thesis opportunities for students who

want to apply their academic knowledge to real-world challenges within pharmaceutical development and manufacturing. Whether your

interests lie in research, engineering, or process development, our thesis projects offer an opportunity to explore new ideas,

gain valuable industry experience, and contribute to the development of future pharmaceutical solutions.

QPharma, is a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for pharmaceutical products. With a strong focus

on innovation and continuous development, we are always looking for new perspectives and ideas to help shape the future of

pharmaceutical development.

Polymeric drug delivery systems such as vaginal rings provide controlled release of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) over

extended periods and are increasingly used in long-acting therapies. Development of these products relies heavily on in vitro

release (IVR) testing to characterize release kinetics and support formulation and process development.

Conventional IVR methods are typically performed using whole rings incubated in large volumes of release media under controlled

conditions. While these methods provide valuable information, they are often resource-intensive, require large amounts of

materials and media, and offer limited flexibility for screening studies. Automated release testing platforms have become

increasingly common in pharmaceutical development and offer precise control of experimental conditions, including media exchange,

temperature regulation, and sampling. While primarily designed for other dosage forms, these systems may provide an opportunity to

establish innovative testing strategies for polymeric vaginal rings. By utilizing smaller test specimens such as ring segments, it

may be possible to reduce material and media consumption, increase experimental throughput, and support more sustainable and

flexible IVR testing approaches

A key question is whether representative release profiles can be obtained using ring segments instead of entire devices.

Establishing a predictive relationship between segment-based and whole-ring testing could provide greater flexibility in

experimental design, facilitate accelerated studies, and increase throughput during product development.

This thesis aims to investigate the feasibility of miniaturized IVR testing of polymeric vaginal rings and evaluate whether

release data generated from ring segments can be used to predict the performance of complete devices.

2. Practical recommendations for implementation of automated release testing methodologies, including sample size, test

conditions, and study design.

3. Enhanced understanding of the relationship between release kinetics obtained from ring segments and whole devices, supporting

more efficient development of rings, implants, and other long-acting polymer-based drug delivery systems.tems.

Does this thesis project sound interesting to you? We would love to hear from you! If you are curious, motivated, and eager to put

your knowledge into practice, we encourage you to submit your application by December 20, 2026

Join us at SEVER Pharma Solutions and get the opportunity to explore real-world challenges within pharmaceutical development. We

offer an inspiring and collaborative environment where new ideas, knowledge, and innovation come together to shape the future of

pharmaceutical solutions.