Introduction
Founded in 1842, the School of Pharmacy is the only free-standing specialist school in the UK dedicated entirely to teaching and research in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences. Its mission is to lead in education, research and policy development that benefits patients and healthcare practice, medicines discovery and development, and society.

The School’s research and teaching is international in scope, and its particular focus on international development is represented by specific programmes spread across its four Departments. Recently, the School has established the FIP Collaborating Centre, a joint partnership between the School and the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). FIP is a federation of national pharmaceutical associations and societies and represents pharmacists and pharmaceutical personnel worldwide. The FIP Collaborating Centre serves as a conduit for expertise, research and development in collaboration with key stakeholders in health care, including the WHO and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The Collaborating Centre aims to build the competence and capacity of individuals, institutions and countries to advance developments through projects, advice and training. It has a particular focus on the needs of developing countries.

Research
The pharmacists, psychologists and social scientists who comprise the Department of Practice and Policy direct their research at making use of medicines safer and more effective for patients. The Department conducts research into the development and evaluation of pharmacy services in developing countries. Some of the challenges addressed through specific activities include the widespread and growing problem of problem of counterfeit medicines, the provision of medicines to children (Centre for Pediatric Pharmacy Research) and the problem of adherence to medicines by patients (Centre for Behavioural Medicine).

The Department of Pharmaceutical and Biological Chemistry has a broad programme in drug discovery, an element of which is dedicated to discovery of new medicines for neglected diseases of the poor, particularly malaria and TB, particularly from natural sources like marine organisms. The Department's Centre for Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy involves natural product chemists and anthropologists, who study how products from plants, particularly in the developing world, can contribute to an improved use of resources, to find new ways for passing this knowledge to future generations and to identify new medicines of global value. The Department of Pharmaceutics undertakes research on formulation sciences and drug delivery, and undertakes a number of projects to develop formulations of essential medicines that facilitate their use by the poor in developing countries, through reducing costs and/or development more appropriate methods of delivery. Active agents are being reformulated to address neglected diseases and to drive down costs so that medicines can be more economic.

Other research projects include pursuing the discovery of novel anti-malarial agents from natural products, and examining the role of professional education in Ghana as an influence in decisions to migrate, particularly as effective pharmacy services in Ghana are hindered by the shortage of appropriately located practitioners.

Teaching
The School has retained an enviable reputation as an international centre of excellence in training, delivering professional qualifications in Pharmacy (Mpharm) as well as a number of postgraduate degrees. Overseas students from over 50 countries make up 25% of the student body. Its MSc in Clinical Pharmacy, International Practice and Policy is specifically designed for overseas pharmacists seeking to develop clinical expertise to implement pharmaceutical care services adapted to their home country. Centres on the WHO’s health priorities and includes service evaluation, financial planning, management and marketing, quality assurance, health services research, and teaching and assessment methodologies.

Highlighted initiative
Staff from the FIP Collaborating Centre - a joint partnership between the School of Pharmacy and the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) – have played a key role in the development of the 2009 FIP Global Pharmacy Workforce Report. The study analyses the existing workforce situation, paints a mixture picture of progress and growing inequity, and makes recommendations. The FIPCC also supports the Pharmacy Education Taskforce – a unique collaboration between the World Health Organization (WHO), UNESCO and FIP.

Participation in LIDC
Staff from The School of Pharmacy participate in the Agri-Health Working Group and Access to Medicines Working Group. Both staff and students are also involved in the Students as Global Citizens project led by the Institute of Education’s Development Education Research Centre (DERC) and LIDC. The three-year initiative will teach students from The School of Pharmacy, Royal Veterinary College and the Medical School of University College London about the social, economic and cultural context of the developing world.