Having just completed the very informative API and Clinical Trail course (thank you Shankar) I was reminded of the traps we can fall into whereby we try to keep ourselves in our little boxes. At the MHRA symposium, I have heard several times comments such as:- “no, I’m not doing the GMP day as it’s not relevant to me” or “GDP? Oh, that doesn’t apply to us as we are manufacturers”. I am sure these comments were made well out of the earshot of MHRA personnel and on the face of it seem harmless enough, though clearly wrong.
I truly believe that we should all expand our knowledge and understanding as much as possible, and certainly where there are crossovers with our speciality. For a Pharmacist or wholesaler, knowing more about GMP, APIs and Clinical Trials must be useful in our ability to fulfil our obligations in our own field. Yes, some aspects of GMP are very technical but there are big parts of it that can be used positively in the GDP arena.
As my exasperated tutors used to say during my pharmacy degree, “you will only get the most out of the topic and excel, if you read around the subject”.