Introduction
Dow College of Pharmacy was established in early 2008 and is now one of the top-ranked faculties of the Sindh province. Dow College of Pharmacy was upgraded to the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Dow College of Pharmacy in the year 2014. Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dow College of Pharmacy is a distinguished and well-renowned entity working under the portal of Dow University of Health Sciences and recognized by the Pharmacy Council of Pakistan and Higher Education Commission.
The aim is to train pharmacy students, who are the backbone of the healthcare system for practicing in various healthcare settings, including hospitals, communities, clinics, etc. we are actually transforming healthcare into a global hub of innovation and opportunity.
The program provides a rigorous background in a range of scientific disciplines that are critical to the success of modern pharmaceutical scientists in industry, government, and academia. Pharm.D is a five-year based program. The training also includes hands-on experience in hospitals and pharmaceutical settings. The First Batch of 123 students (morning) passed out in 2013 and presently, 731 students of our five batches are studying in the Pharm. D program. After the successful running of the Morning shift, the evening program was launched in 2015. Under the Leadership of Principal, Prof. Dr. Sumbul Shamim, Dow College of Pharmacy provides highly proficient education to its students by utilizing rich resources provided by the university. Institute is equipped with high-end facilities for its Students, Researchers, and Faculty. The faculty is comprised of 48 highly qualified faculty members, with 33 Ph.D. degree holders in relevant fields and also HEC Ph. D approved research supervisors. During their study of courses, students are also provided with the opportunity to carry out clinical ward rounds under the supervision of experienced faculty members and healthcare professionals. This training enables the potential pharmacist to play a significant role in strengthening the quality of health care services in our society. Students of fourth and fifth professionals complete their training in Pharmaceutical service centers of Dow University Hospital and Civil Hospital (ambulatory dispensing area, emergency room pharmacy, in-patient pharmacy, out-patient pharmacy, bulk store, satellite pharmacy) and different wards (unit) like Medical ICU, Neonatal care unit, Cardiac care unit, cardiac ward, institute of chest diseases, Gynaecology ward, Neuro. / Psychiatry ward, Gastroenterology ward, Paediatric ward, Dialysis center. This clinical training is conducted at Dow University Hospital and Civil Hospital. Till 2022, ten batches of Pharm. D program have graduated from this institute. The entire group of passed-out Pharmacy graduates from Dow College of Pharmacy are offering professional services in various national and multinational organizations, both within and outside Pakistan.The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dow College of Pharmacy comprised of three capacious building having an area of 82500 sq.ft overall. Each building has fully air-conditioned spacious lecture halls equipped with multimedia, and fully equipped laboratories including laboratories for Pharmaceutics, Pharmacology, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmacognosy, Industrial Pharmacy, Quality Management, Instrumentation, Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, Microbiology, Physical Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Preparation, Compounding and Dispensing and Pharmaceutical Biochemistry.
The university offers a full-time postgraduate program since 2013 in the key areas of Pharmacy and has developed the curriculum format to allow a greater range of options within the program to meet the requirements of pharmacists who have a passion for teaching and research careers in pharmacy and allied health sciences. It provides a sound understanding of drug and disease and diagnostic and instrumental approaches at the molecular level applying contemporary techniques of modern biomedicine. It provides opportunities to acquire and develop the skills of synthesis, analysis, and decision-making, required for careers in the field of pharmaceutical research. Thus, the students are trained as subject specialists, a researcher, and resource people, well equipped with the methodologies of modern trends of teaching and research in various disciplines of pharmaceutical sciences. Research students at DCOP is guided by a team of highly qualified HEC-approved supervisors, they are also provided facilities to work in advanced labs that will help in equipping the practicing pharmacists with the skills to progress into higher levels in all professions of pharmacy. This will enable them to meet the respective intra-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary challenges on the frontiers of pharmaceutical sciences including in vitro, in vivo, cellular, computer-aided-drug designing, and screening at molecular and genetic levels, etc.
The academic activities at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dow College of Pharmacy are divided into five major disciplines:
Pharmacology is the study concerned with all aspects of the actions of drugs and other chemicals on living systems. It explores the action of drugs, adverse effects, drug interaction, contraindications and their pharmacokinetics. It provides pre-clinical and clinical education in areas of Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Toxicology for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Pharmacological research areas include Cardiovascular Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology, Molecular and Biochemical Pharmacology, Neurosciences and Inflammatory Pharmacology.
Pharmaceutics is the science of drug manufacturing. It involves the processes of new chemical entities turning into a dosage form, and modification into the existing formulation to enhance their safety and efficacy. This field encompasses the knowledge and guidelines for the manufacturing of formulation, facilities used for manufacturing and regulations for pharmaceutical manufacturing and marketing.
Pharmaceutical Chemistry addresses chemical aspects of drug development, analytical procedures, and important reactions involved in the quantification and quality testing of drugs. Medicinal chemistry is the most important aspect of this branch of Pharmacy, along with the other courses which make the students aware and to handle various instruments to be used for analytical purposes including pH meter, Conductivity meter, UV-visible spectrophotometer, HPLC, Mass Spectrophotometer, IR and NMR Spectrophotometer, etc.
Pharmacognosy focuses on natural sources of the drugs including plants, animals and minerals. This science includes studies related to the Procurement of drugs from said sources, the effects of these drugs on animals as well as human subjects, drug profiles etc. It also covers the clinical aspects of herbal medicines with quality control, toxicity studies as well and herbal drug interactions. It also elaborates on the industrial aspects that cover cosmeceuticals, nutraceuticals and the exploration of new herbal drugs.
Department of Pharmacy Practice was established in the year 2014 Dec. 22nd, as per the requirements set forth by the Pharmacy Council of Pakistan. The curriculum of pharmacy practice has a major focus on practising clinical skills in the community, hospital and clinical pharmacy setups learned in the classroom. Students must attend Ward rounds in two different hospital settings i.e. a civil hospital, Dow University Hospital and OICD, OJHA Campus. Students conduct ward rounds under the supervision of teaching faculty and with the facilitation of doctors to develop an understanding of patient history taking, and lab data interpretation and enable them to suggest clinical interventions (i.e. via dose calculations and adjustments, detection of ADRs and interactions, following standard treatment guidelines and evidence-based medicines).