Sustainability Hub: SDG3 – Health and Wellbeing

Summary

The video script highlights the role of chemical engineering in advancing health and well-being, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It underscores the unmet needs in areas like oncology and emphasizes the importance of developing efficient, accelerated, and sustainable processes for drug manufacturing. The script also mentions the significant contribution of Professor Robert Langer in lipid nanoparticle formulation, which is pivotal to mRNA COVID vaccines, showcasing the impact of chemical engineering on global health.

Takeaways

• 🌐 SDG3 emphasizes health and well-being, highlighting the current global focus on health due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 🏥 Despite significant efforts against COVID-19, there are concerns that other diseases like cancer are not receiving the same level of attention or resources.
• 💊 There is an unmet need for better medicines and therapies to combat serious diseases that continue to affect populations worldwide.
• 🔬 Chemical engineers play a crucial role in developing and scaling up manufacturing processes for new therapies more efficiently and sustainably.
• 🛠️ The development cycle for new drugs is lengthy, and chemical engineers can help accelerate this process to get effective drugs to patients faster.
• 🔬 Chemical engineers work alongside biologists and other scientists to develop new synthesis pathways for drug production, aiming to reduce complexity and environmental impact.
• 💊 Most new drugs are small molecules that require complex chemical synthesis, where chemical engineering can improve efficiency and sustainability.
• 🌿 Chemical engineering can lead to cleaner processes with reduced energy, solvent, and water usage in drug production.
• 🏆 Professor Robert Langer's work in chemical engineering, particularly in lipid nanoparticle formulation, has been recognized with prestigious awards and is central to mRNA COVID vaccines.
• 🌟 The mRNA COVID vaccines represent a significant application of chemical engineering in public health, impacting the formulation and dosing for billions worldwide.

Q & A

What is the main focus of SDG3 in the UN Sustainability Framework?

SDG3 focuses on health and well-being, emphasizing the importance of health in the context of the current global pandemic and other diseases like cancer.

How does the current pandemic highlight the need for better medicines and therapies?

Despite the rapid response to COVID-19 with vaccines and treatments, there are still large sections of the population affected by other diseases like cancer that feel neglected, indicating an unmet need for better medicines and therapies.

What role can chemical engineers play in addressing the unmet needs in healthcare?

Chemical engineers can contribute by developing more efficient processes for manufacturing and scaling up therapies, accelerating the development cycle of new drugs, and creating cleaner and more cost-effective synthesis pathways.

What is the typical duration of the development cycle for new drugs?

The development cycle for new drugs can be extremely long, ranging from 7 to 14 years.

How can chemical engineers help to accelerate the drug development process?

Chemical engineers can look at different technological approaches to accelerate the process times between different stages of drug development.

What is the significance of small molecules in the context of new drugs?

The majority of new drugs are small molecules of greater complexity that involve many stages of chemical synthesis, which chemical engineers can optimize to reduce stages, energy consumption, solvent, and water usage.

Who is Professor Robert Langer and what was his contribution recognized by?

Professor Robert Langer from MIT was awarded the Queen's Award from the Royal Academy of Engineering for his chemical engineering work on formulation systems, particularly lipid nanoparticle formulation.

What is the connection between lipid nanoparticle formulation and mRNA COVID vaccines?

Lipid nanoparticle formulation is the prime technology for the mRNA COVID vaccines, which have been crucial in the global response to the pandemic.

What impact did Professor Langer's work have on the world's population?

Professor Langer's work on lipid nanoparticle formulation has contributed to the effective formulation and dosing of billions of people worldwide through mRNA COVID vaccines.

What are the key aspects chemical engineers consider when working on new synthesis pathways for drugs?

Chemical engineers consider reducing the number of stages, energy consumption, solvent usage, and water usage, while delivering products more effectively with cleaner and more cost-effective processes.

How can the work of chemical engineers in healthcare contribute to the UN's SDG3?

Chemical engineers can contribute to SDG3 by creating more efficient and sustainable processes for drug development and manufacturing, which can lead to better health outcomes and well-being for the global population.

Outlines

00:00

🧪 Accelerating Health and Well-being Through Chemical Engineering

The script discusses the significant role of chemical engineering in advancing health and well-being, particularly in the context of the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 3. It highlights the ongoing pandemic and the disparity in attention given to diseases like cancer compared to COVID-19. The speaker, a chemical engineer, emphasizes the need for more efficient and sustainable processes to develop and scale up therapies for lethal diseases. The script also touches on the lengthy development cycle of new drugs and how chemical engineers can expedite this process. Furthermore, it discusses the importance of chemical synthesis in drug production and the potential for innovation in this area to reduce environmental impact and improve cost-effectiveness. The mention of Professor Robert Langer's contribution to lipid nanoparticle formulation, which is pivotal in the mRNA COVID vaccines, underscores the impact one individual can have on global health.

Keywords

💡SDG3

SDG3 stands for 'Sustainable Development Goal 3' which is focused on 'Good Health and Well-being' within the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is the central theme of the video script, emphasizing the importance of health in the context of the current global pandemic and the ongoing efforts to improve health outcomes for various diseases, including cancer.

💡Pandemic

A pandemic refers to an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population. In the script, the term is used to highlight the impact of COVID-19 and to draw a comparison with other diseases that may not receive the same level of attention or resources.

💡COVID-19

COVID-19 is the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It has had a profound impact on global health and economies. The script mentions the development of vaccines and solutions for COVID-19, contrasting it with the perceived lack of similar progress in other disease areas.

💡Oncology

Oncology is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. The script points out that despite the focus on COVID-19, there is a significant unmet need in oncology, indicating the ongoing challenge of developing effective treatments for cancer.

💡Chemical Engineering

Chemical engineering is a branch of engineering that deals with the design, development, and production of chemical processes and equipment. In the context of the video, it is highlighted as a field that plays a crucial role in the development and manufacturing of therapies, aiming to make these processes more efficient and sustainable.

💡Unmet Need

Unmet need refers to a situation where there is a demand for a product or service that is not being adequately satisfied by the market. The script uses this term to describe the current state of certain areas in healthcare, particularly in the development of new medicines and therapies for diseases like cancer.

💡Therapeutics

Therapeutics is related to the treatment of diseases, focusing on the development and use of drugs and other treatments. The script discusses the need for better medicines and therapies to combat serious diseases, underlining the role of chemical engineers in improving therapeutic development.

💡Manufacture

Manufacture refers to the process of making goods or products on a large scale using machinery. In the script, it is mentioned in the context of scaling up the production of therapies, emphasizing the importance of chemical engineering in making medicines more accessible.

💡Sustainable

Sustainable refers to the ability to maintain a certain process or state without depleting resources or causing long-term damage. The script discusses the goal of achieving more sustainable methods in the development and production of health-related therapies.

💡Development Cycle

The development cycle is the process from the initial conception of a product or treatment to its final release. The script mentions the lengthy cycle of new drug development, which can span 7 to 14 years, and the role of chemical engineers in potentially accelerating this process.

💡Small Molecules

Small molecules are chemical compounds that have a simple and relatively small structure. They are often used in pharmaceuticals as drugs. The script discusses the complexity of small molecules and the role of chemical engineers in finding more efficient synthesis pathways for these compounds.

💡Lipid Nanoparticle Formulation

Lipid nanoparticle formulation is a method used to encapsulate drugs or other therapeutic agents within lipid nanoparticles to improve their delivery to target tissues. The script highlights the significance of this technology in the development of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, showcasing its impact on global health.

Highlights

SDG3 focuses on health and well-being, emphasizing the importance of health during the current pandemic.

Despite efforts against COVID-19, there is a perceived lack of attention to other pandemics, such as oncology.

There are unmet or poorly met needs for better medicines and therapies to combat lethal diseases.

The speaker has been involved in chemical engineering for 30-40 years, aiming to improve manufacturing and scaling of therapies.

Chemical engineers aim to produce processes more efficiently, sustainably, and at an accelerated pace.

The development cycle for new drugs is lengthy, and chemical engineers can help shorten it.

Chemical engineering can facilitate the rapid introduction and scaling of effective drugs to the mass market.

New drugs are often complex small molecules requiring multi-stage chemical synthesis.

Chemical engineers work with other scientists to develop new synthesis pathways for efficiency.

The goal is to reduce stages, energy, solvent, and water usage in drug production.

Efficient processes lead to cleaner, more cost-effective, and faster drug delivery.

Professor Robert Langer's work in chemical engineering on formulation systems is recognized with a prestigious award.

Langer's lipid nanoparticle formulation technology is key to mRNA COVID vaccines.

Langer's contribution has had a significant impact on the formulation and dosing of billions worldwide.

Chemical engineering plays a crucial role in addressing SDG3 by improving health and well-being through innovative drug development.

The transcript underscores the importance of collaboration between chemical engineers and other scientific disciplines.

Technological advances in chemical engineering are essential for accelerating the development and distribution of life-saving drugs.

Transcripts

[Music]

sdg3

as uh

as is described in the un sustainability

framework

is all about health and well-being

and today

we all appreciate the importance of

health with the current pandemic and

covid19

despite the

enormous effort and reaction to

providing solutions and vaccines for for

covid 19. there are still large sections

of the population who feel there are

other pandemics that are just not

getting the publicity the treatment or

the success

of covid19 and a particular area would

be oncology or cancer

so today there are still

many

areas where we have unmet

need or poorly met need and require

better

medicines better therapies to eradicate

some of these

soul-destroying and lethal

diseases that continue to propagate

around the world as a chemical engineer

i've been involved in the last 30 or 40

years

in trying to produce processes for the

manufacture and scale up the therapies

and i i'm

very focused on doing that

in a more efficient more accelerated and

more sustainable manner as we think

about sdg3

health and well-being chemical engineers

have a couple of particular roles they

can play

on the one hand the development cycle

for new drugs to support health and

well-being are extremely long 7 to 14

years

and the chemical engineer can be looking

at how to accelerate that process

and get

new effective drugs into patients

quicker

and then scaled up and into the the mass

market even quicker still

by adopting different technological

approaches that

greatly accelerate the process

times

between the different stages

secondly

the majority of new drugs that are going

into patients

are small molecules of greater

complexity involving many stages of

chemical synthesis

and a chemical engineer working with

biologists bioscientists and

and discovery chemists can be thinking

of new synthesis pathways to reduce the

number of stages reduce the energy

consumption reduce the solvent usage

required reduce the water usage required

and

and deliver products more effectively

with cleaner processes that are more

cost effective

in a quicker time professor robert

langer of mit

was recently awarded the queen's award

from the royal academy of engineering

and that was in recognition of his

chemical engineering work on formulation

systems in principle

the the most significant of which is

lipid

nanoparticle formulation

and this technology is currently the

prime technology

for the mrna

covid vaccines

that have

been demanded

in response to the crisis

so

that is

one individual making a huge

contribution to the effective

formulation and dosing of billions of

people in the world

[Music]

you