Behind the Scenes, Role Of Pharmacists In Clinical Research

Pharmacists around the world are playing immense roles in the growth of Clinical Research. Somedoes contribute as a part of their profession and a few are passionate about their behind the scenesrole.

Such passionate pharmacist is Michelle Foust ; she doesn't dispense pills at the corner pharmacy butshe distributes them worldwide. Foust is the director of new product development at Almac Group,a multinational company that packages and distributes experimental drugs for clinical trials.

Behind the scenes, Foust and other pharmacists help coordinate the research and developmentprocess that brings new medication from the laboratory to the road corner pharmacy.

Foust in her career is most of pharmacists fill in a research setting instead of in the much morefamiliar retail setting. Although pharmacists who pursue research careers are still a minority, theirranks are expanding quickly within the pharmaceutical industry and the multitude of organizationsdeveloping and testing novel compounds.

Opportunities are Abound

Pharmacists occupy a variety of roles within Clinical Research Organizations and Labs; somedesigning phase I trials, others occupying executive-level management positions. Still otherpharmacists work as clinical research associates in late-phase clinical trials, traveling to investigatorsites to oversee compliance with research protocols and investigating adverse drug events andsafety concerns.

Some pharmacists and their companies give presentations at pharmacy schools to raise awareness ofthe growing career opportunities for pharmacists in clinical research. Often clinical research officersor project managers typically write protocols, choose investigators and study sites. They alsomonitor clinical trials, collect and analyze trial data, report adverse events, and write and publishclinical-study reports. Within the clinical research enterprise, pharmacists often move intoleadership positions in drug-development studies. But because the work is behind the scenes, fewpharmacists hear about these job opportunities.

In addition, a number of pharmacists are working as consultants to biotechnology or smallpharmaceutical companies that have a promising compound and are trying to design the firstclinical protocol to test the compound's safety in human subjects.

Bridging the gap in drug information

Individuals trained in the field of pharmacy are in the exact position to bridge the gap between thepool of gnomic informations becoming available and the goal of personalized medications.

On taking a look at the pharmagnetic information there is a tremendous need for clinicalpharmacologists, and the only group that will be able to fill that gap is pharmacists. Pharmacy hasto meet that challenge. They have to be better trained in general science in order to do thepharmagenetics that is out there.

Douglas Figg, a pharmacist points out that his laboratory recently completed a study using a DNAchip that can rapidly profile 1243 single-nucleotide polymorphisms in 163 genes involved in drugmetabolism and transport using a single DNA sample. This vast amount of data is soon going to beavailable on each patient who would interpret and modify therapies based on this information?

In words of Figg, it won't be physicians. Fewer than a dozen physicians train to become clinicalpharmacologists each year. However, pharmacists are perfectly poised to bridge the knowledge gapbetween laboratory data, and opportunities for them in clinical practice are only going to expand.

The profession of pharmacy has a lot to offer!

In the race of many institutes and organizations CRB Tech Solutions has created a niche inconferring Clinical Research Training.