The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 271 No 7257 p63
12 July 2003

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Substantial volume yet a pleasure to read for those interested in medicines development

'The textbook of pharmaceutical medicine', 4th edition, edited by John P. Griffin and John O'Grady. Pp xi+884. Price £95. London: BMJ Books; 2002. ISBN 0 7279 1523 1

Having agreed, by telephone, to review this publication, it was with some misgivings that I first confronted the book itself. A substantial volume was only to be expected, yet over 850 pages, with 21 chapters by 32 authors still seemed a daunting prospect. I also found the title ('The textbook ...') pretentious, and the self-congratulatory tone of the authors' preface irksome. However, the better I became acquainted with this work the more I warmed to it. It is, in fact, a very good book.

"Pharmaceutical medicine" is defined by the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of three Royal Colleges of Physicians as "a medical scientific discipline concerned with the discovery, development, evaluation, registration, monitoring and medical aspects of marketing of medicines ...", and this book covers all these topics.

It is structured in four parts. Part I, "Research and development", includes chapters on the discovery of new medicines, pharmaceutical developments, toxicity testing, clinical pharmacokinetics, clinical trials and medical statistics. In Part II, "Medical department issues", there are chapters on medical marketing, information and promotion, supply of unlicensed medicines, legal and ethical issues, and safety. Part III is on "Regulatory aspects" and includes chapters on the historical development of the regulatory control of medicines to the year 2000, embracing United Kingdom and European Union controls, on the ICH registration process, on regulation by the US Food and Drugs Administration and on regulation in Japan. Part IV, "Pharmacoeconomics and other issues", has two chapters: one on the economics of health care and the other on the National Health Service.

Unlike many multi-authored books, which so often are no more than loosely assembled miscellanies, this one does read like a single coherent text — a tribute to the skill of the editors. It is, of course, essential reading for those studying for the Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Joint Faculty. It could also be read, with profit and even pleasure, by all who are interested in new medicines and the industry that develops and markets them.

John Sharp

John Sharp is a retired production director and quality assurance director for the pharmaceutical industry.