news briefs In a paper published in Science, Dr. Shaker A. Mousa, vice • allowed open-access publication; and provost of research at ACPHS, and Majde Takieddin, research • provided support for a state-of-the-art Web site. scientist at ACPHS’s Pharmaceutical Research Institute, are among the authors who describe a new 10–12-step process to In his report, Dr. DiPiro noted that the number of manuscripts make ultra-low molecular weight heparin that leverages bio- submitted to the Journal has grown steadily. In 2002, 119 artechnology in place of traditional chemistry. This approach is ticles were submitted; that number grew to 315 in 2011. substantially more efficient than the 17-step chemistry-intensive process used currently and results in a higher yield of the Increasingly, AJPE is becoming a worldwide voice for the final product. It is also less labor intensive and less costly than Academy and a leading source of information about pharmacy education. One indicator of quality is the ISI Impact Factor, a the present method. measure of how frequently Journal articles are cited. The pubMousa and Takieddin, along with other staff at ACPHS’s lication now ranks 12th of 33 science education journals for Pharmaceutical Research Institute, played a key role in the Impact Factor. Also, quality is indicated by the selectivity of discovery by testing the ultra-low molecular weight heparin the Journal. Approximately 50 percent of submitted articles are compound produced by this new process. By confirming that accepted for publication. the new compound is bio-equivalent to the current U-LMWH available on the market (Arixtra), they provided the assurance Celebrating its 75th year of publication in 2011, AJPE continneeded to validate the work and pave the way for future ad- ues to increase the quality of published articles, enhance its vances in preventing and treating conditions such as deep vein international authorship and readership, and publish articles and editorial viewpoints that address guidelines for survey thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. research. To read original peer-reviewed articles that advance pharmacy education, visit www.ajpe.org.
ACPE to Assess Education and Training Abroad
A new partnership between the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education and Management Sciences for Health, a nonprofit global health development organization, has resulted in a five-year initiative through which ACPE will assess pharmacy education and training in developing countries. The initiative is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The funding is part of a cooperative agreement for USAID’s Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services program. The goal of SIAPS is to assure the availability and effectiveness of quality pharmaceutical products and services in order to achieve desired health outcomes. The program will use a guiding framework that includes five health‐systems building blocks: governance, human resources, information, financing and service delivery. A sixth element, medical products, serves as an overlay to assure a coordinated systems approach. ACPE will assess the degree to which academic and training institutions have incorporated the principles of pharmaceutical management. This work will result in a strategic approach to quality assurance in pharmacy training and education.
Editor Highlights AJPE Progress Marking 10 years of service to the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Editor Joseph T. DiPiro issued a report to the AACP Board of Directors last month documenting the publication’s progress during the past decade. Between 2002 and 2010, AJPE: • •
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converted from print to an online publication; increased to 10 issues per year;
academic Pharmacy now Jan/Feb/Mar 2012
In Memoriam Joseph G. Cannon Dr. Joseph G. Cannon, professor emeritus of medicinal chemistry at The University of Iowa College of Pharmacy, died on Dec. 17. Born in Decatur, Ill. in 1926, he served in the U.S. Army from 1944 to 1946. He received a B.S. in pharmacy with high honors in 1951, an M.S. in 1952, and a Ph.D. in 1957 in chemistry with a pharmacology minor, all from the University of Illinois. He was appointed assistant professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy in 1956 and associate professor in 1960. He joined the faculty of the College of Pharmacy at The University of Iowa in 1962 and was named professor of medicinal chemistry in 1965. Notable achievements in Cannon’s career include receiving the Iowa Regents Award for Faculty Excellence and being named the Dale E. Wurster Research Fellow in the College of Pharmacy. In 1997 he received the Smissman Bristol Myers Squibb Award in medicinal chemistry. Cannon served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Chirality, Annual Reports in Medicinal Chemistry, the Indian Journal of Heterocyclic Chemistry, and the sixth edition of Burger’s Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Discovery. He is survived by his wife, Dr. Lynne Cannon, and four children.
Lawrence C. Weaver Dr. Lawrence C. Weaver, former dean of the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy and AACP past president, died on Dec. 21 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 87.