Welcome to the web pages of the Industrial Pharmacists Group.
A new online network has been set up for existing members of the Industrial Pharmacists Group |
Contact details:
Information and Advisory Service (IAS)
e-mail: ias@rpsgb.org
For more information, click on the links below:
The Industrial Pharmacists Group is a membership group open to any registered pharmacist:
1. who is engaged in industrial practice, or
2. who acts as a consultant to industry, or
3. whose work concerns, or
4. who has an interest in, industrial, regulatory or technical
matters
The objectives of the group are:
- to promote better integration and communication
between the pharmacist in industry and other branches of the profession
- to advise the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Council on issues facing pharmacy
in industry and present the industrial perspective on changes in the healthcare system
- to promote high standards of pharmaceutical education and professional training
which are relevant to the needs of the pharmacist in industry
- to expand the role, and increase the awareness of the value, of pharmacy and pharmacists within the industry.
For the IPG information leaflet, click here
The Industrial Pharmacist newsletter is now being published as a section in our new publication, Your Society. To view the latest edition, click on the link below which will take you directly to Your Society.
Industrial Pharmacist (April 2009) (p7 of Your Society, April 2009)
Industrial Pharmacist (November 2008) (p5 of Your Society, November 2008)
Industrial Pharmacist (August 2008) (p6 of Your Society, August 2008)
Industrial Pharmacist (April 2008) (p7 of Your Society, April 2008)
The group is administered by a committee of nine: two members of the Society's Council and seven elected group members. Two additional committee members can be co-opted each year to provide expertise in areas that are not provided by the other committee members. The committee meets three or four times a year.
Meetings 2009:
22 January (Strategy day)
24 March
23 July
15 October
The IPG maintains contact with pharmacy undergraduates through a nominated member of staff at each school of pharmacy to whom it sends regular information about its activities. It also organises annual visits to schools of pharmacy by pharmacists currently working in the pharmaceutical industry; a presentation is made on the opportunities and benefits of a career in industry, aimed at students in their penultimate year. If you are currently studying and would like further information about careers in the pharmaceutical industry please go to the IPG Students section.
The group has also produced a new careers brochure on industrial pharmacy, available from the student section or on request from the group secretariat.
The IPG has contacted a large number of pharmaceutical companies within the UK with regards to the availability of vacation placements. For a list of companies who have informed us that they are offering summer placements for students, click here.
This list will be updated as and when further information is provided, however we suggest that you also make individual contact with companies in your area. For pharmaceutical company addresses go to the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry website at www.abpi.org.uk.
The group continues to be concerned about the decreasing number of preregistration places available in the pharmaceutical industry and has recognised that the focus should be shifted to career opportunities post registration. The group hopes to introduce a mentoring scheme for students and qualified pharmacists to seek one to one advice from an industrial pharmacist.
The group organises several meetings each year on industrial topics; these are attended by group members and other professionals within the pharmaceutical industry, and serve as a networking forum as well as contributing to the delegate's continuing education.
Five free places at each meeting are offered to pharmacy undergraduates and preregistration students and the response to date has been good. If you would like to apply for a free place, please contact the group secretariat.
Better formulations for children A
meeting organised by the Industrial Pharmacists Group and Neonatal
and Paediatric Pharmacists Group meeting, Better formulations
for children, was held at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of
Great Britain headquarters, London, on April 25, 2005.
For a press release, click here
For a report of a joint meeting with the British Oncology Pharmacists Association held in February 2004, click here.
The IPG periodically conducts a survey of its members to ascertain, among other things, salary levels and associated benefits enjoyed by those pharmacists working in the Industry. For the the 2008 survey, click here
The group works with the Institute of Biology and the Royal Society of Chemistry to administer jointly the United Kingdom Qualified Persons scheme. Click here for more information about the Qualified Persons scheme.
The EIPG is a European association representing the national, professional organisations of pharmacists employed in the pharmaceutical and allied industries of the member states of the European Union. Founded in 1966, the EIPG represents about 7,000 pharmacists working in the European industry.
Organisational posts are held on a member state delegation basis. The presidency of EIPG is currently held by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Industrial Pharmacists Group.
For a report of the 2003 EIPG general assembly, held in Antwerp, click here.
The IPG is aware that for many students it can be very difficult to decide which area of pharmacy to branch into. Whereas it may be slightly easier to gain an insight into community pharmacy due to the location and accessibility of the community pharmacy in your high street, it is acknowledged that it may be harder to gain an introduction to the world of the pharmaceutical industry.
Many students decide to take vacation placements in pharmaceutical companies in order to gain a better insight into the many roles that pharmacists can play within the industry. In light of this the IPG has recently contacted a large number of pharmaceutical companies in the UK to ascertain which companies will be offering vacation placements for students. For a list of companies who have informed us that they are offering summer placements for students, click here.
This list is not exhaustive and will be updated as and when further information is provided to the IPG. We suggest that you also make individual contact with pharmaceutical companies that you are interested in working for in your area. Most companies will have websites - so it may be worth searching the internet to start with. For the addresses of pharmaceutical companies, which are members of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, you could try the ABPI website.
If you have a query that your school cannot help with, click here for the Society's careers pages.
The IPG maintains contact with pharmacy undergraduates through a nominated member of staff at each school of pharmacy to whom it sends regular information about its activities. It also organises annual visits to schools of pharmacy by pharmacists currently working in the pharmaceutical industry; a presentation is made on the opportunities and benefits of a career in industry, aimed at students in their second, third and penultimate year of study. The liaison visits are an ideal opportunity to find out what being a pharmacist in industry is all about. You can ask questions, sometimes meet preregistration students and pick up useful information from people who are currently employed in the industry.
Watch out on your school notice boards for information about forthcoming visits, and try to attend if you can. If you have not heard about a visit being held at your school, ask your tutor for more information.
The IPG regularly attends events hosted by the BPSA. In 2000 we went along to King's College in London to give a presentation about careers in industry at an event being hosted there. In 2001 we attended the BPSA Conference to provide information to students about the industry. Watch out for further information, or go to the BPSA website for details of general events.
Although we cannot offer general careers advice (you can get this from your University Careers Office), if you have any issues concerning the industry that you would like to raise please contact us.
Information and Advisory Service (IAS)
e-mail: infopharm@rpsgb.org