World Pharmacists Day 2017: A Brief History of Pharmacy And Pharmacists In India

September 25th is observed as the World Pharmacists Day every year. Here's a brief history of how the profession of pharmacy and pharmacists came into being in India.

Every year, a distinct theme is used for the day, with this year's theme being, "From research to healthcare: Your pharmacist is at your service."

The greeks were the ones who brought the profession of pharmacy into existence. Moreover, the word pharmacy comes from a greek word called "Pharmakon"

In as early as the 9th century, the profession started taking shape from Baghdad, later going o to spread into Europe and eventually, the world over.

However, it was in the 19th century that Pharmacy started being recognized as a science separate from medicine.

The first ever class of chemists and druggists at the Madras Medical college in 1870s marked the beginning of pharmacy as a profession in India. It was meant to train students to gain skills in pharmacy practice.

At that time, the education pattern was based on the instructions as provided by the pharmaceutical society of Great Britain.

A formal training of the compounders was started in 1881 in Bengal.

Not much of a progress was witnessed in the field of Pharmacy until the B. Pharma course was commenced at the Banaras Hindu University in 1937 and at the Punjab University, Lahore (Pakistan) in 1944.

The Pharmacy industry grew and developed rapidly in the country post that. As of today, it is the ranked 4th in terms of volume and 14th as far as the value is concerned.

The Indian pharmaceutical industry is growing very well and is expected to become a world super power by the year 2020.