Standardizing Pharmacology: Assays and Hormones

Professor Michael J. Parnham, Ph.D., C.Biol.MRSB, FBPhS studied Pharmacology at Chelsea (now King's) College, gaining practical experience in the department of the subsequent Nobel Prize winner, John R. Vane, at the Royal College of Surgeons. With a PhD from Bristol University (1976), he carried out postdoctoral research on prostaglandins and chronic inflammation with Ivan Bonta at Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He established laboratories in pharmacology and toxicology and was Director of Preclinical Discovery working on novel anti-inflammatory macrolides at GSK from 2006. From 2012 to 2019, Prof. Parnham built up preclinical research in the Fraunhofer Institute of Molecular Biology & Applied Ecology IME. Dr. Parnham has published and lectured extensively and organised symposia on various aspects of immunopharmacology and anti-inflammatory therapy and in 2015, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association of Inflammatory Societies (IAIS). He is a scientific advisor to several companies. Professor Clive P. Page, BSc PhD OBE HonFBPhS is a Professor of Pharmacology, King’s College London and Director of the Sackler Institute of Pulmonary Pharmacology, King’s College London. Clive’s main research interests are in the pharmacology of inflammation and respiratory disease and he has published over 250 scientific papers. Clive was the co-founder and previous Chairman of the Board of Verona Pharma plc, an AIM listed Company developing new drugs for the treatment of Respiratory Diseases. He is a Non Executive Director of and on boards of several companies. He was awarded the Society of Biology President’s Medal in 2012 for an outstanding contribution to the life sciences over the previous year. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and an Honorary Fellow and President Elect of the British Pharmacological Society. In 2017, Clive was awarded an OBE for Services to Pharmacology. Professor Jacques Bruinvels, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus of Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Full biography to follow

Section I. Redirected traffic: the history of drugs affecting haemodynamics 1. The control of blood pressure Part 1 - The discovery of beta adrenoceptor blocking drugs Part 2 - Peripheral anti-hypertensives: ganglion and adrenergic neurone-blocking agents

Section II. The discovery and application of hormones 2. The emergence of endocrinology 3. Sex hormones Part 1 - Androgens and anabolic steroids Part 2 - The biological history of the Pill Part 3 - The chemical history of the Pill

Section III. Overcoming the body's defence system 4. Anti-inflammatory drugs Part 1 - The proliferation of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSATDS) Part 2 - The story of aspirin, H.O.J. Collier 5. The inhibition of allergic reactions Part I - Histamine receptor antagonists Part 2 - Asthma: a long and continuing story

Section IV. Assays and the molecular basis of drug action 6. A probe for the fine structures of the body 7. Isolated smooth muscle in pharmacology Part 1 - The guts of the matter: contribution of studies on smooth muscle to discoveries in pharmacology Part 2 - Bioassay: a pharmacological endeavour 8. Making visible the invisible (Recollections of the first experiences with the histochemical fluorescence method for visualization of tissue monoamines) 9. Receptors in pharmacology

Section V. History of chemotherapy 10. From dyes to drugs 11. The discovery of penicillin and cephalosporins 12. The antibiotic explosion