Pharmaceutical epidemiology: development and implementation in France

A new scientific discipline: Progress in scientific knowledge, advances in therapeutic innovation, the develop ment of new drugs and the continuing ne ed for optimal drug use impose a new approach to the rational assessment of public health needs and the risks and benefits of therapeutic intervention . In the near future, a new scientific discipline, pharmaceutical epidemiol ogy, will play a leading role. France seems to be a bit behind other wester n countries in this area. Goal setting: The objectives of industrial firms do not necessarily cover a ll aspects of the overall goals of society. if the scientific community lea ves the development and implementation of pharmaceutical epidemiology in th e hands of industrial firms alone, they risk seeing its field of action lim ited to industial objectives. The goals of this new discipline must be defi ned within an unbiased framework aimed at meeting the needs of society in g eneral. Organization: The development of pharmaceutical epidemiology as an integral part of medical research requires a clear definition of its objectives, me thods, working hypotheses and time and human allocations. In this context, pharmaceutical epidemiology should be organized within the University and s cientific settings currently contributing to scientific research in France (INSERM, CNRS, ORSTOM, etc.). Creating favorable conditions: A pharmaceutical epidemiology network with a dequate human and material resources is needed. The wide range of needs exp ressed by existing institutions (Drug Agency, Prescription and Drug Use Obs ervatory, industrial firms, the national health insurance system, physician and pharmacist associations) pleads for a nationally organized project wor king in the public domain. (C) 1999, Masson, Paris.