KOCHI: The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) established World Pharmacist Day in 2009, coinciding with the founding date of the body on September 25, 1912.
Each year, FIP selects a theme to mark this day. The theme for 2024 is ‘Meeting Global Health Needs’, which underscores the critical role that pharmacists play in the global health system. In India, World Pharmacist Day was first celebrated in 2013 at Siri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi. Dr Viswas Mehta IAS, former chief secretary of Kerala, inaugurated the event. I take pride in mentioning that I represented Kerala in the inaugural meeting.
This article aims to dissect this year’s theme by examining the subjects taught in pharmacy courses.
Pharmacy education in India
Mahadeva Lal Schroff, considered to be the country’s first pharmacist, is known as the ‘Father of Pharmacy Education in India’.
The first pharmacy college in Asia was established in Goa in 1842 by the Portuguese. However, it was Schroff who introduced a three-year B.Pharm course under the Banaras Hindu University in 1932.
In 1937, the College of Pharmacy was also established at the same university. Subsequently, institutions such as BITS Pilani and Sagar University followed suit.
In Kerala, the B.Pharm course started in 1967 at Trivandrum Medical College, with an intake of 25 students, thanks to the initiative of then principal Dr M Thangavelu. Today, over 40 colleges under the Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHAS) offer B.Pharm, M.Pharm, and Pharm.D programmes. Several institutions also offer the two-year D.Pharm course.
B.Pharm curriculum
The B.Pharm course spans four years, with subjects like anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and microbiology covered in the first year. In the following three years, students delve into pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacology, pharmacognosy, dispensing pharmacy, pharmaceutics, medicinal chemistry, and forensic pharmacy.
Pharmacists and research
Drug research necessitates expertise in pharmacognosy, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacology, and pharmaceutics. Pharmacists are responsible for identifying, evaluating, and synthesising drug molecules. The next critical step in research is discovering the medicinal effects of substances in the human body.
Pharmacologists test the drug’s efficacy by administering it to animals such as mice, rabbits, and dogs, whose tissues are comparable to those of humans.
Drug manufacture
Once a drug has passed the research phase, pharmacists are responsible for its manufacture. Drugs are formulated in various forms, such as tablets, oral liquids, capsules, drops, inhalers, ointments, suppositories, powders, emulsions, lotions, and injectables. Today, AI is also being applied in drug manufacturing.
Clinical trials
Clinical trials of new medicines involve collaboration between doctors, pharmacists, and the company producing the drug. The trials, conducted on patients suffering from the targeted disease, help detect side effects or adverse reactions.
Upon completing all four phases of clinical trials, the company must apply for approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation. Only after approval can the drug be manufactured.
Pharmacists and the plant kingdom
The subject of pharmacognosy, which focuses on the plant kingdom, plays a crucial role in identifying new drug molecules. Pharmacists often engage in research involving medicinal plants, which forms part of their doctoral programmes.
Honouring pharmacists
World Pharmacist Day is an occasion to honour and recognise the valuable contributions of pharmacists, who are integral to a nation’s healthcare system. In this context, it is worth mentioning the late Dr Muhammad Majeed, an alumnus of Trivandrum Medical College.
After completing his B.Pharm, he established pharmaceutical businesses in both the US and India, earning recognition as the ‘Father of Nutraceuticals’, with over 500 patents to his name. He founded Sami Labs and Sabinsa Corporation. Dr Majeed, who was born on 25th September in 1948, passed away in March. This year, the pharmacy fraternity in Kerala dedicates ‘World Pharmacist Day’ to his memory.