“Nicolae Testemitanu” University obtained a grant of 2 million euros for the FORCE-Farm subproject

Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy from the Republic of Moldova obtained a grant worth 2 million euros for the implementation of the sub-project Modernization and strengthening of education through research in pharmacy and medicine at Nicolae Testemitanu University - FORCE- Farm. It was offered under the Higher Education in Moldova project (2nd round), implemented by the Ministry of Education and Research of the Republic of Moldova (MER) in the period 2020-2025, with the financial support of the World Bank.

The ceremony of handing out the grant award certificates took place on Thursday, November 23, 2023, at the State University of Moldova. The event was attended by Minister of Education and Research Dan Perciun, the MER Secretary General of State Nadejda Velișco, the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Finance Ion Gumene, representatives of the implementation team from the World Bank and the beneficiary institutions.

The certificate of financing of the investment sub-project was handed to the rector of Nicolae Testemitanu University, Professor Emil Ceban, who thanked the Government of the Republic of Moldova and the World Bank for the consistent support of higher medical and pharmaceutical education in Moldova. FORCE-Farm is complementary to the first sub-project - Strengthening of education through research in medicine at Nicolae Testemitanu University (FORCE-med) and is oriented towards the implementation of the principle of training through research: from obtaining the drug to its use in therapy.

 "Personalized pharmacotherapy strategies, depending on the individual characteristics of the patient, are essential and constitute the basis of personalized medicine, aimed at adapting the right therapeutic strategy for the right person, at the right time, in order to determine the predisposition to the disease in a timely manner," emphasized Rector Ceban. 

Also, the FORCE-Farm project focuses on strengthening the didactic platform, research, and drug development, provides for the management of the educational process at the Faculty of Pharmacy according to the drug research methodology and the familiarization of students from the Faculty of Medicine with this process, with the aim of initiating the integration of the study process at the two faculties.

According to the project manager, Professor Olga Tagadiuc, the project envisages the creation of biotechnologies, pharmaceutical nanotechnologies, and drug design laboratories, as well as equipping the study and research room with specialized educational systems, which will facilitate the learning of the development and rational use of medicines. At the same time, these activities will contribute to the biotechnological education of students, by cultivating advanced practical skills in the field of physical-chemical analysis and bioanalysis, and to the application of various modern methods of studying the properties of medicines.

"It is the right moment for the development of laboratory biotechnological experiments and the consistent transition to pharmaceutical industrial lines for the production of modern medicines. Thus, due to the implementation of the FORCE-Farm project, it is expected to ensure an integrated training of doctors and pharmacists based on the drug knowledge, to develop the skills of collaboration in interprofessional teams, which would allow a multilateral assessment of the patient and a better-informed therapeutic decision-making in the context of applying the principles of personalized medicine", Professor Olga Tagadiuc specified.

The total value of investments in the second round of the Higher Education in Moldova project is over 10 million euros, from which will benefit five universities of the country.