The Entrance University of Health Sciences (EUHS) in Accra will soon begin a postgraduate training in industrial pharmacy, the President of the university, Professor Aaron Lante Lawson, has stated.
He said such discipline would enable local pharmaceutical manufacturing companies to produce essential drugs and vaccines needed to improve health care in Ghana and the sub-region.
“Entrance University will soon begin postgraduate training in industrial pharmacy, a discipline which is visibly absent in our country, making it difficult for local pharmaceutical manufacturing companies to effectively compete with big pharma for drug and vaccine development,” he said.
Graduation
Speaking at the second congregation ceremony of the university last Friday, Prof. Lawson said the programme would be made possible through collaboration with the Entrance Pharmaceutical and Research Centre and international collaborators.
In all, 59 students who had completed their six-year Doctor of Pharmacy degree (PharmD) from the university’s School of Pharmacy graduated, with Daniel Osafo being adjudged the Overall Best Student.
Dr Osafo took the best in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmacognosy, Pharmaceutics and Pharmacy Practice.
The event was held on the theme, “Pharmacy: Where science meets compassion”.
Over-subscribed programme
The President of EUHS said the Doctor of Pharmacy programme remained a flagship academic offering of the university.
He said it was designed to meet both national and global standards of pharmaceutical education, with strong emphasis on clinical competence, patient-centred care, and ethical practice.
Prof. Lawson pointed out that the PharmD programme continued to be over-subscribed on account of its excellence in structure, delivery and hands-on clinical training.
“A total of 96 have gained admission into the school,” he said, saying that additionally, the second year of enrolment into the three new schools had seen a significant increase in student numbers.
“Forty for medicine, five for Dentistry, and 87 for Nursing. It is clear from these figures that Medicine and Nursing have almost hit the caps given by the respective regulatory bodies,” he said.
EUHS is trailblazer
In a speech read on her behalf, the Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Prof. Rita Akosua Dickson, said EUHS had, over the years, distinguished itself as a trailblazer in pharmaceutical education.
Since its registration and accreditation in 2018 by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), she said the university had demonstrated that excellence was driven not by “age but by purpose, leadership, and clarity of vision”.
“We not only applaud the achievements of the graduates but also acknowledge the enduring success of this esteemed institution.
“Entrance University holds the enviable distinction of being the first private university to offer the Doctor of Pharmacy degree in the West African sub-region, affiliated to the prestigious KNUST,” she said.
Prof. Dickson pointed out that the EUHS’s state-of-the-art facilities, experiential learning model, and strong industry linkage, particularly through the Entrance Pharmaceutical and Research Centre, had ensured that students were not only academically sound but professionally competent.
“The outstanding 97 per cent pass rate in the 2024 Pharmacy Council Licensure Examination is a clear testament to the quality of training and mentorship provided at this institution,” she said.
The VC of KNUST also said pharmacy was more than the study of medicines and drugs, adding that it was a noble profession that combined deep scientific knowledge with a sincere commitment to human life.
She said it stood at the intersection of innovation and empathy, excellence and service, knowledge and care.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh