THE International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) has called on scientists, pharmacy practitioners and educators from across the globe to work together in order to respond to the world's "pressing health care needs".
Speaking at the opening of the 6th Pharmaceutical Sciences World Congress in Stockholm, Sweden yesterday, FIP president Carmen Pena said the increasingly globalised world of research and manufacturing offered key opportunities to pharmaceutical scientists, with the bringing together of different fields of expertise, sectors and nationalities set to help solve health issues.
"Integration will become the key word in the success of the pharmaceutical sciences," she said.
"Integration also means that borders between clinical trials and post-marketing surveillance are shifting to allow faster access to innovations while limiting risks for patients," the FIP president added.
Pena noted the rise of new players in research and development which have seen a number of formerly neglected diseases become priorities, with a more open-access model driven by public and philanthropic funders set to reinforce social accountability.
For the first time scientific research has been recognised as a contributor to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, with governments set to report progress around key indicator including R&D expenditure as a proportion of GDP, and the number of researchers per million residents.
"Preparing a sustainable success of pharmaceutical sciences is no small task. It will require extensive and coordinated efforts to ensure that there will be a sufficient number of pharmaceutical scientists with the appropriate skills to respond to the coming challenges," she concluded.
More than 1,000 pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists from 73 countries have gathered in Sweden for the FIP World Congress this week which is themed 'Future medicines for one world.'
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