Pharmacy School Partnership Seeks to Improve Pain Treatment

Through a partnership between the St. Louis College of Pharmacy (STLCOP) and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the new Center for Clinical Pharmacology in Missouri will work toward improving pain treatment.

STLCOP announced in a press release that the 2 schools are hoping that the center leads to “better, safer, and more effective ways to use prescription medications to improve health.”

The Center for Clinical Pharmacology will house 5 laboratories covering a total of 12,000 square feet in the STLCOP’s new academic and research building.

“This is the first major partnership between our institutions. Together, we are focused on innovative solutions to find answers to the national epidemic of abuse and misuse of analgesic agents,” STLCOP President John A. Pieper, PharmD, said in a statement. “We believe pharmacists and physicians working side by side will lead to the best solutions in health care. It is what we’re teaching in our classrooms and clinical settings, so it only makes sense to carry over those collaborations to clinical research, as well.”

Alex S. Evers, MD, professor and head of Washington University’s Department of Anesthesiology, added that there is a need for a more tailored approach for each individual experiencing pain.

Dr. Evers said he believes the center’s researchers could use genetic and pharmacological approaches to tackle this issue.