A Salute To The Past and its impact on the present
School of Pharmacy event showcases the School’s fellowship program at Allergan and the two men who launched it. A unique legacy between two pioneering institutions — Allergan and the USC School of Pharmacy — and two of their visionary past leaders — Gavin S. Herbert and John A. Biles — was celebrated along with the fellowship program between the two institutions that the two men established decades ago at a luncheon in Irvine on February 8.
Dean Vanderveen with Dean Emeritus John Biles, Provost Elizabeth Garrett and Gavin Herbert, who is chairman emeritus at Allergan and a USC life trustee.
“While universities and corporations often work together and collaborate on projects, few are marked by the longevity and intersections that characterize the connections between Allergan and the School of Pharmacy,” said Dean R. Pete Vanderveen. Back in the early 50s, Allergan was a small company with sales of about $50,000 per year. The inventor of many of the early formulas at the company unexpectedly died of a heart attack, and the formulas went with him. Allergan hired a young USC professor named John Biles to recreate the formulas. And he did. “If John hadn’t recreated those formulas, there would be no Allergan today,” said Gavin S. Herbert, chairman emeritus at Allergan and a USC life trustee. “Today, Allergan sales are close to $6 billion,” said Dean Emeritus John Biles. “Gavin was a disciplined leader who was a futurist. His view widened my perspective.”
Herbert’s commentary on the profession of pharmacy, after a stint as a pharmacy tech in the military, led Biles to focus on expanding the pharmacist’s role in the clinical setting. Herbert asked Biles why it took pharmacy students four years to learn what he learned as a tech in six months. That got Biles thinking as a futurist himself, leading him to launch the nation’s first required clinical pharmacy clerkships in 1970. “The longstanding relationship between the USC School of Pharmacy and Allergan is grounded in a mutual commitment to excellence and the spirit of innovation, which has only grown stronger as both institutions have become more influential,” said Provost Elizabeth Garrett. “The School of Pharmacy, its faculty and students will continue to flourish as they follow in the footsteps of visionary leaders like Dean Emeritus Biles and Life Trustee Herbert.” Today schools nationwide include clinical clerkships as a pivotal part of the pharmacy curriculum. Additionally, the two were forerunners in the establishment of the School’s fellowship program, which continues to provide unique opportunities to newly minted PharmD’s and PhD’s interested in pursuing careers in industry. Allergan, a global multi-specialty healthcare company, will have nine fellows through the USC program in 2012-13, up from the current eight fellows. The program was started in 1977 and among the event attendees was Janet Cheetham, who was among the first fellows in the program and is currently a vice president of clinical development at Allegan. The event provided an opportunity for current fellows to talk with past fellows, representatives from both USC and Allergan, and both Herbert and Biles in an intimate setting. Fellows also had a chance to pose for photos with the chairman emeritus of the company where they are doing their fellowship. And while the event came with no deadlines or assignments, Herbert reminded the fellows of the upcoming Allergan Research & Development Day saying, “Hope you have something good to show at this year’s R & D Day.”
summer-fall 2012 | USC PHARMACY MAGAZINE
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