Pearls of Bioeqivalence and Biopharmaceutics Award 2026

On 29 May 2026, during the joint EUFEPS-SITELF conference in Naples, the EUFEPS/FFQM Pearls of Bioequivalence & Biopharmaceutics Award was presented to Prof. Werner Weitschies of the University of Greifswald for the development of the EsoCap system. The award recognised a groundbreaking innovation for the local treatment of oesophageal diseases.

The award is presented jointly by the Frankfurt Foundation for Quality of Medicines (FFQM) and the European Federation for Pharmaceutical Sciences (EUFEPS). The Foundation’s Chairman, Professor Henning Blume, and the President of EUFEPS, Professor Giuseppe De Rosa, congratulate Professor Weitschies on the award.

The EsoCap system was designed and patented by Prof. Weitschies’ research group at the University of Greifswald. It represents the world’s first clinically validated platform technology for targeted local drug therapy of the oesophagus. This is the first approach to enable controlled local drug therapy of the oesophagus.

The system is based on a thin film that adheres to the mucous membrane and is loaded with the active ingredient. The rolled-up film is administered in a capsule using a special applicator. After the capsule is swallowed, the film unrolls as the capsule passes through the oesophagus, adhering to the oesophageal mucosa. It then slowly releases the active ingredient, achieving controlled release directly into the oesophagus and thus a long-lasting high local drug concentration.

The EsoCap AG was founded with the involvement of Prof. Weitschies to develop the system. Working in close cooperation with the Greifswald research group, industry partners and clinicians, the company developed the system for the treatment of eosinophilic oesophagitis, an inflammatory disease of the oesophagus, for clinical trials and successfully tested it in a multicentre Phase 2 clinical trial in Europe.

The award thus recognises not only a technological innovation, but also the successful translation of a university invention into a new therapeutic concept with proven clinical efficacy.