IE School of Science & Technology and GSK launch ‘Next Frontiers in Health’ program to accelerate drug development
IE School of Science & Technology and GSK launch ‘Next Frontiers in Health’ program to accelerate drug development.
IE School of Science & Technology (at IE University) and the global biopharma company GSK have signed an agreement to launch an academic program that knowledge and capacity building within the pharmaceutical industry, focused on the development of new drugs and vaccines and supported by the use of new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and advanced data analytics.
This program will be co-designed by GSK together with the IEX Research Xcelerator, a global center for technological innovation, with the aim of developing future professionals with a deep understanding of the pharmaceutical sector and strong skills in data science, AI, and other emerging technologies.
This annual program, titled 'Next Frontiers in Health' Biopharma and AI Gateway Specialization, will run for five months and is aimed at students from IE School of Science & Technology, IE Business School, and IE Law School. It will cover all stages of pharmaceutical development—from discovery to regulatory approval and commercialization—integrating technologies such as digital twins, the Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics, and blockchain to streamline and accelerate operations.
The training will combine rigorous theoretical content with immersive, hands-on experiences, including technical sessions, workshops, roundtables with industry experts, experiential learning activities, immersion experiences at GSK, and a final team-based project. The program will be co-led by David Barros, Head of Global Health Medicines R&D at GSK, and Ikhlaq Sidhu, Dean of IE School of Science & Technology, with support from Jorge Pou, Director of Innovation and Commercial Acceleration of GSK Spain, andthe teams at IEX and Impact Xcelerator.
Cristina Henríquez de Luna, President of GSK Spain, emphasized the commitment of both entities to "share resources, knowledge, and talent to stay ahead of the disease and drive breakthroughs that have a positive impact on people's health. With the drug development specialization program, we are promoting an open and dynamic innovation ecosystem".