Clinical pharmacology is the scientific discipline that involves all aspects of the relationship between medications and humans. The term ‘clinical pharmacologist’ is also used in the professional sense to refer to those physicians who are specialists in clinical pharmacology. They have undertaken several years of postgraduate training in many aspects of the above relationship involving teaching, research and health care. Such clinical pharmacologists have as their primary goal that of improving patient care, directly or indirectly, by developing better medicines and promoting the safer and more effective use of drugs.
The International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR) is a voluntary, non-profit association representing the interests of scientists in pharmacology-related fields to facilitate Better Medicines through Global Education and Research around the world.
The aims of the Clinical Division of IUPHAR (clinical@iuphar.org) are to advance the development of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics by:
- stimulating research in clinical pharmacology world-wide
- promoting high ethical standards in clinical drug research
- promoting scientific meetings, workshops and courses in clinical pharmacology and therapeutics in different parts of the world
- improving and harmonizing the teaching of the rational use of drugs at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, particularly in developing countries
- promoting problem- and patient-oriented drug information for physicians and other health professionals
- promoting the utilization of clinical pharmacological services in health care delivery, particularly in developing countries
- utilizing skills of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics in counteracting misuse of prescription drugs and other chemical substances, and evaluating patients experiencing adverse drug reactions
- promoting high ethical standards in drug prescribing and utilization
- enabling individual countries to benefit from the international diversification of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
- encouraging collaboration with other agencies interested in the rational use of drugs, particularly WHO
2022 Clinical Section Update from Dr. Maria Isabel Lucena and Dr. Caroline Samer:
The IUPHAR and its Clinical and Translational Section has been in active collaboration with the Spanish Society of Clinical Pharmacology and the Argentine Association of Experimental Pharmacology (AAFE) to organize a Clinical Pharmacology Course divided into 3 parts.
There will be a Latin American/IUPHAR Clinical Pharmacology Course on November 2, 9 and 16 from 3:00pm – 6:00pm (CET).
In general, the increasing complexity of clinical drug development has become evident in recent years. Currently, clinical research with drugs or medical devices faces many challenges such as the repositioning of marketed drugs for new indications or the evaluation of new therapies that include biologics or gene modifying agents, which often implies a redefinition of traditional endpoints in efficacy and safety from a perspective of precision medicine. Besides, further focus on ethical issues reinforcing the need for recognized bodies to ensure compliance with the ethical, methodological, and legal requirements that regulate the study of drugs in humans is clearly needed. In this course, aimed at a Latin American audience, an experienced faculty, encompassing clinical pharmacologists, and drug experts from the academy and the regulatory agencies will address all these challenges in practical case-based presentations to foster discussion and interaction with the participants. Finally, this course meets objectives of IUPHAR for promoting pharmacology through education and research.