The Federation of European Pharmacological Societies (EPHAR)EPHAR The Federation of European Pharmacological Societies
is a non-profit voluntary association established to advance research and education in the science of

pharmacology Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...

and to promote co-operation between national/regional pharmacological societies in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and surrounding countries. It is an

umbrella organization An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

of currently 27 national societies for pharmacology and represents over 10,000 individual pharmacologists in Europe. Moreover it seeks to co-operate with other international organizations, especially the

International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology The International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR) is a voluntary, non-profit association representing the interests of scientists in pharmacology-related fields to facilitate ''Better Medicines through Global Education and Resear ...

(IUPHAR) of which EPHAR is an associate member.IUPHAR Associate Members
"

History

The efforts in the 1990s to unite European economical and political forces had found their counterpart in formation of European scientific federations. One of those scientific federations is EPHAR that was founded at the XIth International Congress of Pharmacology in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

(The Netherlands) in 1990. The establishment of the federation was prepared by a steering committee formed in 1988 under the initiative of Rodolfo Paoletti. The steering committee, headed by Börje Uvnäs, consisted of six members: Alasdair Breckenridge (UK), Flaminio Cattabeni (Italy), Gilles Fillion (France), Ove A. Nedergaard (Denmark), Rodolfo Paoletti (Italy), Hasso Scholz (Germany), Börje Uvnäs (Sweden). EPHAR was recognized as an affiliate member of IUPHAR in 1994. Since 1990, the Federation has sponsored important scientific events. In particular, EPHAR has contributed in the organization of residential courses with a restricted number of participants ("Molecular Biology in Pharmacology", Milan, 1990; "Neuroimmunomodulation in Pharmacology", Paris, 1992; "Electrophysiology in Pharmacology", London, 1993).History of EPHAR

Activities

Pharmacology has developed into a multifaceted discipline extending from

molecular biology Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...

at the one end to

clinical pharmacology Clinical pharmacology has been defined as "that discipline that teaches, does research, frames policy, gives information and advice about the actions and proper uses of medicines in humans and implements that knowledge in clinical practice". Clinic ...

at the other.U. Förstermann and T. Griesbacher:
The edge of glory
. ''Public Service Review: European Science & Technology'', 2012, 15: pp.222−223 The necessity of collaborative efforts within all branches of

biological sciences Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

, in the development and analysis of new

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

s, is the driving force of the activities of EPHAR. One challenge of this federation is the creation of new generations of pharmacologists with an analytical and broadminded attitude towards important aspects of modern medical biological sciences.U. Förstermann:
Pharmacology across Europe, a status report
" ''Pharmacology Matters'', 2012, vol.5(2), pp.6−9. The Federation seeks to achieve its objects by arranging instructional courses and training programs in matters connected with pharmacology, facilitating the exchange of scientific information between European pharmacologists (by encouraging the holding of joint meetings between European member societies), disseminating information and encouraging the participation to important activities organized by member societies. This will include the production of a calendar of the National and joint meetings of each European Society. Another important goal of the Federation is establishing common standards for basic courses in pharmacology, and fixing minimal standards for a European Pharmacologist Certificate. The scientific dissemination is a fundamental step in progress and advance in research and education. For this reason, the most important scientific events established by the Federation are the EPHAR Congresses. They include plenary lectures, symposia, round tables, oral and poster communications devoted to the most recent advances in pharmacology and related sciences and therefore represented the adequate forum for discussing preclinical, clinical and therapeutic data. Particular emphasis was given to the impact of

biotechnologies Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

drug development Drug development is the process of bringing a new pharmaceutical drug to the market once a lead compound has been identified through the process of drug discovery. It includes preclinical research on microorganisms and animals, filing for re ...

and to the identification of novel pharmacological approaches to

incurable A cure is a substance or procedure that ends a medical condition, such as a medication, a surgical operation, a change in lifestyle or even a philosophical mindset that helps end a person's sufferings; or the state of being healed, or cured. The ...

disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...

s. Sessions were also held on drug development, strategies for

research funding Research funding is a term generally covering any funding for scientific research, in the areas of natural science, technology, and social science. Different methods can be used to disburse funding, but the term often connotes funding obtained thr ...

and training of pharmacologists. The EPHAR Congresses that have taken place since EPHAR’s foundation are: *1st EPHAR Congress:

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

(Italy), 16–19 June 1995 *2nd EPHAR Congress:

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

(Hungary), 3–7 July 1999 *3rd EPHAR Congress:

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

(France), 6–9 July 2001 *4th EPHAR Congress:

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

(Portugal), 14–17 July 2004 *5th EPHAR Congress:

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

(UK), 13–17 July 2008 *6th EPHAR Congress:

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

(Spain), 17–20 July 2012 *7th EPHAR Congress:

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

(Turkey), 26–30 June 2016 EPHAR supports activities, organized by its member societies that are intended to improve the cooperation among European pharmacologists. They are traditionally *EPHAR Lectures *EPHAR Symposia *EPHAR Instructional Courses One of these activities per year, for each country, is promoted by EPHAR. Calls for applications for these EPHAR-supported activities and the guidelines for these events are announced annually. Moreover on special occasions EPHAR gives prizes to European young investigators in the field of pharmacology, the EPHAR Young Investigators Awards. So far, the following awards were given: *EPHAR Young Investigators Awards 2010 *EPHAR Young Investigators Awards 2012 *EPHAR Young Investigators Awards 2014

Executive committees

The term of the EPHAR Executive Committees is four years. The present (2016–2020) Executive Committee is composed by the following members:EPHAR Executive Committee
* President (2016–2018): Robin Hiley (Department of Pharmacology,

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, UK). * President Elect: Mojca Kržan (Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Toxicology, Medical Faculty,

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana ( sl, Univerza v Ljubljani, , la, Universitas Labacensis), often referred to as UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 39,000 enrolled students. History Beginnings Although certain ...

, Ljubljana, Slovenia). * Treasurer: Giuseppe Cirino (Department of Pharmacy,

University of Naples Federico II The University of Naples Federico II ( it, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II) is a public university in Naples, Italy. Founded in 1224, it is the oldest public non-sectarian university in the world, and is now organized into 26 depar ...

, Italy). * Secretary General: Andreas Papapetropoulos (Faculty of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences,

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

, Greece). * Markus Forsberg (School of Pharmacy

University of Eastern Finland The University of Eastern Finland ( fi, Itä-Suomen yliopisto) is a university in Finland founded in 2010 with campuses in Joensuu and Kuopio. History The Finnish Parliament passed the Universities Act on June 16, 2009, which, among other things ...

, Finland). * Antoinette Maassen-van den Brink (Department of Pharmacology,

Erasmus University Rotterdam Erasmus University Rotterdam (abbreviated as ''EUR'', nl, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam ) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century humanist ...

, Netherlands). * María Jesús Sanz Ferrando (Department of Pharmacology,

University of Valencia The University of Valencia ( ca-valencia, Universitat de València ; also known as UV) is a public research university located in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest surviving universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Vale ...

, Spain). * Ondřej Slanař (Department of Pharmacology, 1st Medical Faculty,

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

, Prague, Czech Republic). * Markus Zeitlinger (Department of Clinical Pharmacology,

Medical University of Vienna The Medical University of Vienna (German: ''Medizinische Universität Wien'') is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It is the direct successor to the faculty of medicine at the University of Vienna, founded in 1365 by Rudolf IV, Duk ...

, Austria). Past Presidents were: *2014–2016: Thomas Griesbacher (

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

, Austria) *2012–2014: Filippo Drago (

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

, Italy) *2010–2012: Ulrich Förstermann (

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

, Germany) *2008–2010: Eeva Moilanen (

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

, Finland) *2006–2008: Arthur Weston (

, UK) *2004–2006: Manfred Göthert (

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

, Germany) *2002–2004: Alan W. Cuthbert (

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, UK) *1997–2002: Flaminio Cattabeni (

, Italy) *1990–1997: Rodolfo Paoletti (Milan, Italy)

Composition

The National Societies members of EPHAR are (in alphabetical order): • Austrian Pharmacological Society (Österreichische Pharmakologische Gesellschaft) APHAR. • Belgian Society of Fundamental and Clinical Physiology and Pharmacology. Société Belge de Physiologie et de Pharmacologie Fondamentales et Cliniques. Belgisch Genootschap voor Fundamentele en Klinische Fysiologie en Farmacologie. • Association of Pharmacologists of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Udruženje Farmakologa Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine. •

British Pharmacological Society The British Pharmacological Society is the primary UK learned society for pharmacologists concerned with research into drugs and the way they work. Members work in academia, industry, regulatory agencies and the health services, and many are medi ...

(BPS). • Bulgarian Pharmacological Society. • Croatian Pharmacological Society. Hrvatsko Društvo Farmakologa. (HDF). • Czech Society for Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology. Česká Společnost pro Experimentální a Klinickou Farmakologii a Toxicologii (ČSEKFT). • Danish Society for Pharmacology, Toxicology and Medicinal Chemistry. Dansk Selskab for Farmakologi, Toksikologi og Medicinalkemi (DSFTM). • Dutch Pharmacological Society. Nederlands Vereniging voor Farmacologie (NVF) • Finnish Pharmacological Society. Suomen Farmakologiyhdistys. (SFY). • French Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Société Française de Pharmacologie et de Thérapeutique. (SFPT). • German Society of Pharmacology. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Pharmakologie. (DGP). • Hellenic (Greek) Society of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. Ελληνική Εταιρεία Φαρμακαλογίας (Ellinikí Etaireía Pharmakologías). • Hungarian Society for Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology. Magyar Kisérletes és Klinikai Farmakólogiai Társaság (MFT). • Israel Society for Physiology and Pharmacology (ISPP). • Società Italiana di Farmacologia (SIF). • Latvian Society of Pharmacology. Latvijas Farmakoloģijas biedrība. (LFB). • Norwegian Society for Pharmacology and Toxicology. Norsk Selskap for Farmakologi og Toksikologi. (NSFT). • Pharmacology Society of Malta. • Polish Pharmacological Society. Polskie Towarzystwo Farmakologiczne. (PTST). • Portuguese Pharmacological Society. Sociedade Portuguesa de Farmacologia (SPF). • Russian Scientific Society of Pharmacology. • Serbian Pharmacological Society. Српско Фармаколошко Друштво / Srpsko Farmakološko Društvo (СФД / SFD). • Slovak Pharmacological Society. Slovenská Farmakologická Spoločnosť (SFaS). • Slovenian Pharmacological Society. Slovensko Društvo Farmakologov. (SDF). • Spanish Society of Pharmacology. Sociedad Española de Farmacología (SEF). • Swedish Society for Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Sektionen för Läkemedelslära. • Swiss Society of Pharmacology and Toxicology. Société Suisse de Pharmacologie et de Toxicologie/ Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Pharmakologie und Toxikologie (SSPT/SGPT). �
Turkish Pharmacological Society. Türk Farmakoloji Derneği
(TFD).

Future directions

The (2012−2014) EPHAR president, Filippo Drago, has announced the institution of “EPHAR ambassadors”, in order to reach countries that are not yet members of EPHAR (in particular

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

). These countries may be possibly not organized in national pharmacological societies, and that could make them hard to reach. The “EPHAR ambassador” will support the spreading of knowledge of EPHAR activities, hiring high quality applicants to congresses, lectures and seminars. Another important ongoing project of EPHAR is about changes in the bylaws, that were presented and accepted at the General Assembly to be held in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

in 2014.

External links

EPHAR website: http://www.ephar.org/ The internet sites for each European pharmacological society, member of EPHAR, are hereby listed: • Austria: http://www.aphar.at/ • Belgium: http://users.ugent.be/~jvdvoord/physiology&pharmacology/index.htm • Croatia: http://pharma.mef.hr/ • Czech Republic: http://farmspol.cls.cz/ • Denmark https://web.archive.org/web/20130903234249/http://dsftm.dk/index.php/en/ • Netherlands: http://www.nvfarmaco.nl/ • Finland: http://www.sfy.fi/ • France: http://www.pharmacol-fr.org/ • Germany: http://www.dg-pharmakologie.de/ • Greece: https://web.archive.org/web/20131007085419/http://gsp.med.auth.gr/ • Hungary: http://www.mapharm.hu/ • Italy: http://www.sifweb.org/ • Norway: http://www.nsft.net/ • Poland: http://www.ptf.info.pl/ • Serbia: http://www.sfarmd.org/ • Slovakia: http://www.sfarm.sk/ • Spain: http://www.socesfar.com/ • Sweden http://www.lakemedelslara.se/ • Switzerland: http://www.swisspharmtox.ch/ • Turkey: http://www.tfd.org.tr/ • United Kingdom: https://web.archive.org/web/20130410071823/http://www.bps.ac.uk/view/index.html

References

{{authority control European medical and health organizations International medical associations of Europe Pharmacological societies