Position

Senior Lecturer and Deputy Director of the Centre for Paediatric Pharmacy Research

Areas of Expertise

Paediatric Pharmaceutics, Drug Delivery, Formulation, Biopharmaceutics, Pharmaco-Gamma Scintigraphy, Cyclodextrins

Biography

Dr Catherine Tuleu is a UK-qualified French pharmacist. She graduated from Université Paris V and obtained her PhD with distinction from Université Paris XI. After a postdoctoral period funded by the British Council and a research assistantship in the Department of Pharmaceutics at The School of Pharmacy with Professor Michael Newton, she was appointed as a Lecturer in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Kingston University where she was awarded the Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. In January 2003, Dr Tuleu returned to The School of Pharmacy as Pfizer Paediatric Drug Delivery Lecturer for the newly established Centre for Paediatric Pharmacy Research of which she is now deputy director. She was promoted to Senior Lecturer in August 2007.

Research Interests

With a background in pharmaceutical technology and biopharmaceutics, Dr Tuleu’s predominant field of research is gastrointestinal drug delivery with an emphasis on colonic targeting where she developed expertise ranging from in vitro, animal and clinical evaluation (Gamma Scintigraphy). Another main aspect of her research concerns drug delivery systems for neonates, infants and children, linked to the various routes of administration and to compliance considerations, as well as to the difference in drug disposition and the choice of adequate excipients. The lack of paediatric formulation development is counterbalanced by extemporaneous dispensing based on little, if any, bioavailability and stability data. Working closely with paediatric hospitals and pharmaceutical firms, part of Dr Tuleu’s work is also to ensure that those paediatric formulations are effective, safe and of quality, bringing science into practice.

Catherine is the Chair of the Formulation sub-group of the Department of Health Medicines for Children Research Network (MCRN) Pharmacy and Pharmacology Clinical Studies Group. She leads also a similar European expert network organised through TEDDY (Task-force European Drug Development for the Young), the EU Commissions-funded Network of Excellence in Children Medicines Research (FP6) and an industrial forum on paediatric formulation, the EU Paediatric Formulation Initiative (EuPFI). She was nominated as a UK and European expert for provision of advice relating to formulation of paediatric medicines for the EMEA and MHRA and is a member of the MHRA Commission's Paediatric Medicines Expert Advisory Group.

Evans H, Tuleu C, Sutcliffe A. (2010).  Is honey a well-evidenced alternative to over-the-counter cough medicines?  Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. J R Soc Med 2010: 103 1-2.

Bowles A, Keane J, Ernest T, Clapham D, Tuleu C. (2010).  On the specific aspects of gastro-intestinal transit in children.  The Open Drug Delivery Journal.  In Press.

Tuleu C.* (2009) Children’s medicines: taste masking and taste assessment. Bulletin Technique Gattefossé Nº 102: 83-91.

Hempenstall J, Tuleu C* (2009) Formulating better medicines for children. Int J Pharm. 8;379(1):143-5. Epub 2009 Jul 2.

Thomson SA, Tuleu C, Wong ICK, Keady S, Pitt K, Sutcliff A* (2009) Assessing the acceptability of mini-tablets for use in children aged 2-6 years old. Pediatrics. 123(2):e235-238.

Davies H.E., Tuleu C. * (2009) Medicines for children: a matter of taste. Medical Progress section of Journal of Pediatrics. 153(5): 599-604.

Cram A., Breitkreutz J, Desset-Brethes S, Nunn T, Tuleu C*. (2009) Challenges of Developing Palatable Oral Paediatric Formulations. Int J Pharm. 365(1-2):1-3.

Shah T., Tse A.P.Y., Gill H., Wong I.C.K., Sutcliffe A., Gringras P., Appleton R., Tuleu C.* (2008) Administration of melatonin mixed with soft food and liquids for children with neurodevelopmental difficulties. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology.50:845-9.

Tuleu C.*, Allam J., Gill H., Yentis S.M. (2008) Short term stability of pH-adjusted lidocaine-adrenaline epidural solution used for emergency caesarean section. Obstetrics and gynecology. International Journal of Obstetric Anesthesia. 17(2):118-122.

Carvalho M., Tuleu C., Taylor K.M.G. (2008) Current compounding practice in Europe. Int. J. Pharm. Compound. 12(2): 8-13.

Invited seminars and presentations in 2010

Paediatric Medicines: Pharmacology and Formulation – who to turn to? At London’s children: supporting research 2010, London and South East MCRN LRN conference, 04/01/2010, London

Mini-tablet: A new modality of delivering medicines to pre-school children? 7th World meeting on Pharmaceutics, Biopharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, Valleta, Malta

Developments in formulation design for paediatric solid oral dosage forms, 2010 European Modified release forum, Colorcon, London , 21-22/04/2010

Finding the right Formulation. Formulation Development & Manufacturing of Paediatric Drugs, 4th ECA Good Development Practice Conference - Part 2, 19-20 May 2010, Vienna, Austria

Taste assessment and taste masking. WorldPharmacology 2010. Focused conference 16 on Drugs for half the World: paediatric clinical pharmacology. 21-23 July 2010, Copenhagen, Sweden

Perspectives on the Scientific, Technical, and Regulatory Challenges for the Development of Palatable Oral Pediatric Formulations. Paediatric medicines – Formulation, Manufacturing and Compliance Challenges and Strategies Moving Forward. Annual meeting of AAPS, November 2010, New Orleans, LA

Extended Publications List....]