The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7492 p275
8 March 2008

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• Darzi review
• Glaucoma
• Minor ailment scheme
• Community pharmacy (2)
• Clinical trials
• Hospital pharmacy

Letters to the Editor

Clinical trials

Research opportunities

From Dr C. Edwards, MRPharmS

I fully endorse the sentiments outlined in the article “Clinical trials need pharmacists” (PJ, 23 February 2008, p 210) in which the opportunities and rewards associated with working in clinical trials were described.

It was a pharmacist who, with a small group of colleagues working as clinical research associates (CRAs), founded the Association of Clinical Research for the Pharmaceutical Industry, 30 years ago. In 2000, its name was changed to the Institute of Clinical Research and it now boasts an international membership of several thousand.

In the early days, the association’s membership comprised non-medically qualified personnel who co-ordinated clinical trials for the industry. Their backgrounds were varied, ranging from graduates and postgraduates in the bio- and chemical sciences to those who came from sales and marketing. The mix was unusual but invigorating.

As a pharmacist working as a CRA in the pharmaceutical industry at the time, I gained much from the camaraderie and exchange between people who had different strengths. The institute is open to clinicians and non-medically qualified personnel, from pharmaceutical companies and academia, hospitals and contract research organisations.

Clinical research offers a satisfying mix of experience and skills for pharmacists. Nowadays, career advancement within pharmaceutical companies can lead to project management at home and abroad and other opportunities in medical and regulatory affairs.

A pharmacy degree or postgraduate qualification opens a wide array of opportunities and is a distinct advantage to anyone who is contemplating a career in this part of the pharmaceutical industry.

Clive Edwards
Newcastle upon Tyne

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