Teaching of Pharmaceutical Technology and
the Short History of the
Department of Pharmaceutical Technology

The Department of Pharmaceutical Technology is one of the oldest and most prominent departments of our Faculty. Pharmaceutical technology, the subject taught here, is one the most important subjects in pharmacy. (Previously this subject was called, rather imprecisely, Pharmacy. At English-American universities its name is Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Technology, Physical Pharmacy, Applied Pharmacy, while at German universities this subject is called Pharmazie, Pharmazeutische Technologie or Arzneiformenlehre.)

The legal predecessor of our Department was the University Pharmacy of the József Ferencz University in Kolozsvár/Cluj, founded in 1902 by Hugó Issekutz pharmacist, private lecturer (Privatdozent). He lectured students of pharmacy (in the 3rd and 4th semesters of their studies) on Pharmaceutical Technics, which was a subject with a function similar to pharmaceutical technology in today's sense. After 1916 this work was continued by Áron Ferencz private lecturer, who - after Hugó Issekutz's death - was appointed to be his successor.

In 1921 the University fled from Kolozsvár to Szeged. As Áron Ferencz stayed in Kolozsvár, Lajos Dávid pharmacist was charged with organizing the University Pharmacy, supplying medicine to the clinics and teaching first-year and second-year students who had moved to Szeged together with the University. Lajos Dávid solved this important and very diverse task with such energy, activity and success that in 1930 he was appointed honorary extraordinary professor in recognition of his educational, scientific and organizing activities.

The University Pharmacy was placed in the eastern wing of the U-shaped building complex in Dóm Square. This fact also indicates Lajos Dávid's high esteem as the most important and most distinguished organizational units were placed here. (Previously the University Pharmacy was located in Kálvária Square, in the building of the present Engineering Technical School.) The Pharmacy moved to Dóm Square in 1931 and this was when the term Pharmaceutical Department appeared in the name of the organizational unit. Thus the Department as an organizational unit as such has existed since 1931.

As the spirit of university departments and the characteristics of education and research carried out there are determined by the personality of the head of department, the 75-year-long history of our Department is going to be reviewed through the work and activities performed by the heads of department.

The first leader of our Department was Lajos Dávid (1889-1962). He received the title of ordinary full professor (head of department) in 1944. He was the chairman of the inter-faculty committee of pharmaceutical education from 1940, he participated in working out the structure and curriculum of the so-called new system of pharmacist training (4-year training). He was elected to be the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine in the academic year of 1947/48.

Lajos Dávid considered education to be the main task of the Department. In the so-called new system of training he taught galenic formulation to 3rd year students and preparation of drugs in the pharmacy (prescription pharmacy) to 4th year students. He held the view that a modern, easy-to-use textbook should be available to students (and to qualified pharmacists who wished to further educate themselves). Volume I. of his three-volume book entitled Pharmacy was published in 1927, Volume II in 1928 and Volume III in 1937.
In addition to education, he also devoted great energy to research. He published more than 100 publications and acted as consultant for 39 doctoral dissertations in pharmacy. He retired in 1958. The last major event in his active career was the foundation of the independent Faculty in 1957.

From 1959 the Head of Department was Professor György Kedvessy (1914-2002), who had previously worked in the Pharmaceutical Department of the Medical University in Budapest. During his leadership the practical education provided in the Department was extended by a new type of practice: he introduced the teaching of the practical elements of pilot scale and factory scale drug manufacturing. Thus the department offered the following practical profile: In the 3rd year students learnt about the preparation and chemical examination of galenics, in addition to which the tasks of tabletting, injection preparation and pilot scale formulation of galenics were also taught in small groups (consisting of 6-8 students). In the 4th year prescription pharmacy was dealt with. This curriculum was modified at the end of the 60s. Since then there have been no practices in the first semester of the 3rd year so that theoretical lectures can precede and provide adequate bases for the practices. The preparation of galenics was taught in the second semester of the 3rd year, besides which the teaching of pilot scale drug manufacturing was also started and continued in three semesters. The students participated in the pilot scale galenic, tabletting and injection practices in small groups, in a rotational manner. Prescription pharmacy was practiced in the first and second semesters of the 4th year. In the last semester of the 4th year the students performed the physical-chemical and chemical examination of various dosage forms. Two major examinations were held during the studies: an end-term examination at the end of the 3rd year and a comprehensive examination at the end of the 4th year, consisting of a practical and a theoretical part.

Research activities were intensified considerably during Professor Kedvessy's leadership. All the lecturers in the department obtained the university doctorate, and later six of them also acquired the candidate's degree (C.Sc.). Numerous important topics were researched, and later certain topics were reasonably concentrated on. Four research teams were formed within the Department, researching the following topics: (1) suppository formulation with moulding and physical-chemical, biopharmaceutical examination of rectal suppositories; (2) tabletting and coating; (3) rheology and biopharmacy of ointments and other colloidal dosage forms; (4) mixing of powders and making poorly water-soluble drugs water-soluble with the formation of inclusion complexes. (The research of suppositories ceased at the end of the 70s.) Professor Kedvessy made a special point of training young scientists, several students performed student research in the Department. A great number of outside experts, especially from pharmaceutical industry and from public pharmacies, prepared his or her doctoral dissertation in the Department or with the guidance of the Department's lecturers. The 2-year-long central system for teaching assistants financed by the Ministry proved to be very successful, this made it possible for young pharmacists and career starters to take their doctorate.

Professor Kedvessy laid special emphasis on textbook writing and on the publication of scientific results. The first edition of the textbook Pharmaceutical Technology was published in 1964, followed by three more. Students had lecture notes for all types of practices. Professor Kedvessy planned to prepare a series of handbooks in pharmaceutical technology for the education of specialist pharmacists and for further education, but only its first volume was published (Pharmaceutical Technology of Tabletting) for lack of funds. The Head of Department and his colleagues published a great number of publications in this period, for the most part in German-language journals. The Department participated in several applications: a national mainstream topic of special importance was researched with the support of the Ministry of Health. The good reputation of the Department was also shown by the large number of research-development projects received from Hungarian pharmaceutical factories. Our international relationships were also very promising, we had co-operation agreements with partner institutes in Bratislava, Halle and Ljubljana. Unfortunately, the possibilities for study trips to Western countries were extremely limited at that time, only two longer visits were made.

Béla Selmeczi (1930-2004) was the next Head of Department, he held that position for 11 years. This was the time when pharmacist education was extended to last for 5 years and also when the preparation of a final diploma work was made compulsory for the students as part of the requirements of training. The Department was assigned the task of teaching several new subjects. The History of Pharmacy, Ethics in Pharmacy, Fundamentals in Veterinary Science and Computerized Administration in Pharmacies were all added to the teaching profile of the Department. The computer room of the Department was opened with support from the Pharmacy Centres still existing then; it provided the background for solving tasks associated mainly with prescription pharmacy.

Under the leadership of Béla Selmeczi the research of medicinal suppositories, discontinued by the previous Head of Department, was started again. The Department continued its intensive publication activity and new relationships were established with pharmaceutical factories and with foreign research centres. Two of our colleagues participated in a longer study trip abroad. Outside experts continued to show great interest in obtaining the university doctorate. Two senior lecturers form the Department obtained the degree of academic doctor (doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences). Professor Selmeczi retired in 1995.

István Erős (1940-) was the Head of Department between 1995-2005. During this period the Department won several applications (FeFA, OTKA, ETT, TéT applications). The Department was completely renovated, the laboratories were modernized. Several valuable instruments were purchased. New research projects were started (thermoanalytical research, X-ray dispersion element analysis, HPLC examinations, modern procedures of granulation, study of drug release with automated instruments etc.). A PhD program was prepared by the Department and accredited by the Hungarian Accreditation Committee in 1994. Later the Pharmaceutical Technological Program became part of the doctoral school of the Faculty. 39 students joined the program in our Department and 13 of them have already obtained their PhD degree. This period was also characterized by successful student research and publication activities (353 papers, 173 lectures at national events and 351 lectures in international forums).

Professor Piroska Révész has been the Head of Department since July 1, 2005. In addition to the main subject, the following subjects are taught by the Department: History of Pharmacy, Fundamentals in Pharmacy, Computerized Dosage Form Planning (compulsory subjects), Industrial Pharmacy, Medicines of Tomorrow (elective subjects to be chosen compulsorily), Famous Pharmacists in the 20th Century, Theoretical Bases and Application of Electron Microscopy in Material and Life Sciences, Development of Drug Preparation in Pharmacies, Technological Tasks of Individual Prescriptions, Pharmaceutical Rheology (elective subjects). As part of the education of specialist pharmacists, Pharmaceutical Technology and Quality Assurance specialities are available in the Department.

Dr. István Erős
Professor Emeritus

Szeged

2006