FIP’s vision to be served by three new board members from Germany/UK, Japan and USA

Buenos Aires, 27 August 2016 — The line-up of the International Pharmaceutical Federation’s board (known as the Bureau) is to change on 2 September following the election of three new officers today.

Professor Tatsuro Irimura, project professor at Jutendo University School of Medicine, Japan, will take the position of the chair of the FIP Board of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Since 1974 Professor Irimura has dedicated his career to research and education and has chaired the Science Board of his country’s Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Agency. He said: “Pharmaceutical sciences as a field has gained a great momentum. I want to connect pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists and strengthen their contribution to society.”

Two of nine FIP vice-president positions are to be filled by Dr Linda Hakes (Germany) and Dr Tom Menighan (USA).

Dr Hakes, originally from the UK and currently chair of the country’s Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences, is a pharmacist who has worked in drug development for 40 years. “FIP should strongly advocate the retention of science and scientific principles within the pharmacy curriculum while recognising that most graduates will eventually work in practice,” she said in her election statement.

Dr Menighan has been CEO chief executive officer of the American Pharmacists Association since 2009 and has been a pharmacy owner for 38 years. “We pharmacists have a responsibility to engage in global health issues. It is my honour to contribute to the energy and perspectives of American pharmacists in all practice settings to work within FIP,” he said.

The voting also saw Professor Ross McKinnon, foundation director and professor in cancer research at Flinders University, Australia, and Ms Eeva Teräsalmi, a community pharmacy owner and member of the faculty at Helsinki University, Finland, each elected for a further term as vice-president on the FIP Bureau.

The FIP Bureau consists of 15 elected officers.