Clinical pharmacology – the first 75 years and a view of the future

Abstract

When the Editor of the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology commissioned this article he probably expected a scholarly step-by-step account of the development of our discipline.He also asked that the review should consider current difficulties and future prospects.A period of reflection and some background literature searches soon convinced this author that a comprehensive account would be so lengthy and take so long to research thoroughly that it was more likely to be complete for the 80th anniversary of the British Pharmacological Society (BPS) than the 75th.So this is a personal account by someone who has lived and worked through just under 50 years of the 75 years the Editor wanted to cover.To minimize personal bias I have sought advice from a substantial number of those who have been leaders in the development of the discipline.Their names are listed at the end of the article.I am profoundly grateful to all of them and if I have misrepresented their views here and there I hope that they will forgive me.For the many very active participants I have not mentioned I plead the exigencies of time and page space.The article contains no references because there would have been hundreds, but it does include many names, so those who want to know more can use Google and Medline.At the conclusion of the article I have tried to address some of the rather pessimistic views about the future of clinical pharmacology that are current in many academic circles.They are views that I understand but do not entirely share.From the standpoint of someone who now works in industry, the challenges and opportunities for clinical pharmacologists are greater than they have ever been, but a vibrant academic clinical pharmacology community is essential for the practice of clinical medicine and the training of physicians as well as an important source of ideas for industry.At the very end of this article I have put forward some possible solutions to the current problems.To overseas readers they may seem rather UK oriented, but I believe that similar concepts, adapted to local circumstances, could be applied more widely.Academic and health service clinical pharmacology is needed and must not be allowed to wither. Clinical pharmacology -the first 75 years

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