International Pharmaceutical Federation - Global Pharmacy

The International Pharmaceutical Federation or Fédération Internationale Pharmaceutique, abbreviated as FIP, is an international federation of national organisations that represent pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists. It was founded in 1912 and is based in The Hague in the Netherlands.

Mission statement

The mission of FIP is to "improve global health by advancing pharmacy practice and science to enable better discovery, development, access to and safe use of appropriate, cost-effective, quality medicines worldwide."

History

Founded in 1912, the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) is the global federation of national associations of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists. It gathers 137 member organisations and represents three million practitioners and scientists around the world. It is a nongovernmental organisation (NGO) in official relations with the World Health Organization.

Originally, the Federation was primarily focused on the pharmaceutical sciences but over the years, its scope expanded to cover pharmacy practice.

Governance

FIP consists of two boards: the Board of Pharmaceutical Practice and the Board of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Board of Pharmaceutical Practice

The FIP Board of Pharmaceutical Practice, which embodies pharmacists, has eight sections, each focusing on specific areas of pharmacy, developing and enhancing professional practice through shared experience. The Sections represent the following areas of pharmacy practice:

• Academic Pharmacy
• Clinical Biology
• Community Pharmacy
• Health and Medicines Information
• Hospital Pharmacy
• Industrial Pharmacy
• Military and Emergency Pharmacy
• Social and Administrative Pharmacy

Board of Pharmaceutical Sciences

The Board of Pharmaceutical Sciences (BPS) is in place within FIP to provide a forum for pharmaceutical scientists to communicate, network, and further develop their expertise and knowledge in their areas of interest. This is accomplished through member participation in special interest groups that focus on specific aspects of pharmaceutical science and research. Targeted specifically to this group is the Pharmaceutical Sciences World Congress, which is held every 4 years in a different location around the world. The most recent was in Melbourne, Australia in 2014.

Special interest groups have been formed on the following areas:

• Bioavailability and Bioequivalence
• Biopharmaceutics Classification System
• Dissolution
• Environment and pharmaceuticals
• Individualized Medicine
• Medicinal Chemistry
• Natural Products
• Nuclear Pharmacy
• Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
• Pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacoeconomics

Role of Board of Pharmaceutical Sciences
The role of this Board is to handle all scientific aspects of FIP's activities. To fulfill this task the BPS has developed a Strategic plan with a clear mission, namely to establish and maintain itself as the leading forum for representation of pharmaceutical science throughout the world. The main approaches to accomplish this mission are:

• Coordinating the advancement for the pharmaceutical sciences worldwide by providing a global network for national and Supranational organizations representing pharmaceutical sciences;
• Providing an international platform for interactions amongst pharmaceutical scientists;
• Contribution to public policy issues related to pharmaceutical research - e.g. gene products, biologicals, drugs: their discovery, development, production, regulation and rational use;
• Fostering the career development of pharmaceutical scientists;
• Identifying and nurturing emerging areas of science in the pharmaceutical sciences;
• Enhancing recognition of the achievements of pharmaceutical scientists;
• Interacting with organizations of health care providers to strengthen their scientific base;
• Encourage high quality in pharmaceutical sciences;
• Assisting in advancing the pharmaceutical sciences in developing countries;
• Sponsoring international symposia, conferences and training programs for pharmaceutical scientists;
• Liaising with governmental authorities to establish and to increase financial support or research and development in pharmaceutical sciences.

The FIP Foundation for Education and Research

The Foundation's objectives are to promote the education of, and research by pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists within the general fields of design, manufacture, distribution and use of medicines for humans and/or animals. In order to achieve its objectives the Foundation may undertake any of the following activities:

Making awards in recognition of excellence;
Making grants to support education or research;
Granting Fellowships to permit a period of research at an approved institution;
Awarding Scholarships to permit short periods of international travel in order to study the practice of pharmacy or pharmaceutical science in another country or in other countries;
All other charitable activities which do not conflict with the aforementioned objectives or the general objectives of the International Pharmaceutical Federation/Fédération Internationale Pharmaceutique (FIP).

The FIP Foundation for Education and Research was set up in 1993 with a programme of grants and awards. In addition to the Awards in Recognition of Excellence, the FIP Foundation also makes available FIP Development Grants to young pharmacists in training or research, FIP International Travel Scholarships and FIP Fellowships. In 1997 it introduced the Young Poster Presenter's Awards, which are given to a number of people who have submitted abstracts for the FIP Congress, which have been screened and approved by either the scientific or professional secretary. Donations and other forms of sponsorship are an essential ingredient to the success of the Awards programme and to the FIP Foundation and has set up a FIP Foundation Supporter's Club. It has developed a series of benefit, both individual and corporate, which will attract potential donors/sponsors. There are six categories - Ribbon, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond.