American Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians Establishes Fellowship Program in Pharmaceutical Medicine.

Health/Medical Writers

RALEIGH, N.C.--(BW HealthWire)--July 21, 2000

The American Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians (AAPP), founded in 1993, recently achieved an historic and prestigious first by awarding three fellowships in Pharmaceutical Medicine.

The Academy received funding for two fellowships from The Merck Foundation, and the third from the GlaxoWellcome Foundation. The recipients, Braden Kuo, MD, Kenneth I. Ataga, MD, and Dorothea A. Griffiths, MD, PhD, are located at Harvard University (Massachusetts General Hospital), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) School of Medicine, and PAREXEL (RTP, North Carolina), respectively. Training began on July 1, 2000.

AAPP President, Izabela J. Roman, MD, PhD, commented, "The Academy considers the Fellowship Program a practical means of establishing a formal procedure for consistency in training in this medical specialty." She continued, "The physicians trained in this program may use their skills in several different areas of the drug development process, all focused on the development of worthwhile, innovative new medicines for patients."

"A vital element for the success of the program is the participation of training centers that are willing and able to provide the didactic and/or hands-on clinical experience," added James J. Cappola, MD, PhD, AAPP Fellowship Advisory Board Chairman. Current centers include the US Food & Drug Administration, the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy, Harvard Medical School, GlaxoWellcome and PAREXEL, reflecting the diverse groups that are involved in drug discovery and development: academia, pharmaceutical companies, clinical research organizations and the government's drug regulatory agency. The American Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians is an independent, non-profit professional organization devoted to the development of new pharmaceutical agents. AAPP represents more than 1,000 pharmaceutical physicians at work in academia, industry, clinical research and government.

For more information on the American Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians contact the AAPP National Office at 919/424-4440 or visit the AAPP website at http://www.aapp.org .