Whenever we discuss education in pharmaceutical medicine, we often refer to the three most well-known regions:  Europe (where the first University courses were established back in the ‘70s), the USA (where many Universities offer courses in Medicines Development) and Japan (where a few courses were established years ago). But over the last few decades, there has been globalization in Medicines Development which offers many opportunities for “emerging countries” to take a closer look at the education, training, and regulation within their borders. This manuscript by Prof. Sandor Kerpel-Fronius et. Al provides discussion and conclusions from a satellite workshop held at the 17th World Congress of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (WCP2014) regarding the expansion of Medicines Development education to Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).

Abstract
“The aim of this satellite workshop held at the 17th World Congress of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (WCP2014) was to discuss the needs, optimal methods and practical approaches for extending education and teaching of medicines development, regulation, and clinical research to Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). It was generally agreed that, for efficiently treating the rapidly growing number of patients suffering from non-communicable diseases, modern drug therapy has to become available more widely and with a shorter time lag in these countries. To achieve this goal many additional experts working in medicines development, regulation, and clinical research have to be trained in parallel. The competence-oriented educational programs designed within the framework of the European Innovative Medicine Initiative-PharmaTrain (IMI-PhT) project were developed with the purpose to cover these interconnected fields. In addition, the programs can be easily adapted to the various local needs, primarily due to their modular architecture and well-defined learning outcomes. Furthermore, the program is accompanied by stringent quality assurance standards which are essential for providing internationally accepted certificates. Effective cooperation between international and local experts and organizations, the involvement of the industry, health care centers and governments is essential for successful education. The initiative should also support the development of professional networks able to manage complex health care strategies. In addition, it should help establish cooperation between neighboring countries for jointly managing clinical trials, as well as complex regulatory and ethical issues.”1

Click here to read the full text, published in the Frontiers in Pharmacology journal.

Disclaimers

  • The material in these reviews is from various public open access sources, meant for educational and informational purposes only
  • Any personal opinions expressed are those of only the author(s) and are not intended to represent the position of any organization(s)
  • No official support by any organization(s) has been provided or should be inferred

References

  • Kerpel-Fronius, S., Rosenkranz, B., Allen, E., Bass, R., Mainard, J. D., Dodoo, A., Dubois, D. J., Hela, M., Kern, S., Massud, J., Silva, H., & Whitty, J. (2015). Education and training for medicines development, regulation, and clinical research in emerging countries. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2015.00080