1991
The Spanish Society of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology was founded in 1991 as an association of professors from the area of Pharmaceutical Technology in Spanish Schools of Pharmacy, under the name “Asociación de Docentes de Farmacia Galénica“, with the aim of promoting scientific cooperation among its members and establishing uniform criteria in the teaching of courses on pharmaceutical technology.
1992 - 1999
In 1992, the first board of directors was appointed, chaired by Prof. Rafael Cadórniga Carro, with one representative from each of the Schools in Spain. Gradually, professors from all over Spain, doctoral students and scholarship holders joined the Association.
In 1993 the first annual quota of 10,000 pesetas was established, which was considered high at the time, and could be paid in two instalments. The initial budget was intended to cover the subscription to the “European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences”, and the fee for the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Sciences (EUFEPS), to which affiliation had been requested. In addition, the foundations were laid for organising the society’s congresses, which have since been held biannually.
The success of the second congress of the association in Seville brought with it a certain economic prosperity, so that in 1995 the opening of a bank account in the name of SEFIG was approved. With the new millennium, major changes were introduced: there were changes in the name, logo, statutes and board of directors, and SEFIG opened up to new types of member, partly due to the requirements stipulated by the EUFEPS to incorporate SEFIG as a partner organisation.
1999 - 2004
The new board, which now had Prof. Angel Concheiro as president, ensured that the Association – from then onwards named the Sociedad Española de Farmacia Industrial y Galénica (SEFIG) – kept apace of current developments. The website was launched, providing the appropriate channel for publicising SEFIG’s activities. Communication began to flow more freely as members became email users. As a member of EUFEPS, SEFIG started to have a more international outlook, entering into contact with European scientific societies (in Germany (APV), France (APGI) and Italy (ADRITEL)), organising or co-organising events with the European Federation, and opening its doors to new contacts, like those established with the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) or the European Association of Faculties of Pharmacy (EAFP)
2004 - 2008
Since then the society has never ceased to develop and expand. In 2004, a change in the board brought a new president, Prof. José Martínez Lanao. It was during this period that an additional effort was made to foster collaboration and relations with other similar national societies, such as the Spanish Association of Industrial Pharmacists (AEFI), or the Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacists (SEFH). One result of this, as an advanced scientific training activity, could be seen in the training days organised with the collaboration of AEFI under the title “Innovation. A common challenge for industry and academia” in 2008, followed in 2010 by “Bioequivalence and patient risk”.
In 2006, there was an agreement to create a research prize. This became official policy in 2007, and the prize is now awarded biannually.
2008 - 2012
The board of directors, chaired from 2008 by Prof. Juan Manuel Irache, was responsible, among other things, for directing the company to take an active part in the regulatory aspects of the specialty of Industrial Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, effectively opposing the initial draft of the Royal Decree 183/2008 which sought to eliminate Industrial Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology from the list of specialties in health sciences. During this period, participation in the events organised by SEFIG was also encouraged, for which purpose annual bursaries for attending conferences were created and some collaboration agreements were formalised, such as the one signed with AEFI.
2012 - 2016
Between 2012 and 2016 the board of directors, chaired by Prof. Mª Rosa Jiménez-Castellanos Ballesteros, continued the policies of the previous board aimed at positioning this area of knowledge adequately in the national sphere, initiating or improving relationships with other Spanish societies with regard to common interests, and representing members in the international sphere.
2016 - 2020
Between 2016-2020 the board of directors was chaired by Prof. Francisco Javier Otero Espinar. At this stage, thanks to teamwork among the board members, the organisation of conferences, scientific events, congresses and symposiums was intensified, in many instances in collaboration with national and international scientific organizations such as APV, APGI, ADRITEL, European Cyclodextrin Society, COST Action CM1307, Galenus Foundation, CISDEM or SOCEPA. In addition, a collaboration agreement was established with the Academy of Pharmacy Santa María de España in the Region of Murcia, allowing members free asynchronous online access to courses and conferences organised by the society. An agreement as a Society and collaborating scientific journal was also signed with the publishing house MDPI, and specifically with the journal Pharmaceutics. During this phase the numbers of young members and professionals from the pharmaceutical industry increased. In addition, with the support of the assembly of members and the intense involvement of the industry spokesperson, it became possible for companies within the pharmaceutical sector to join as patron members.
SEFIG has helped to generate a forum of opinion and debate concerning the teaching of pharmaceutical technology, has allowed those involved to share their experiences and scientific research, and has created the scientific atmosphere necessary for the training of young researchers.
On the strength of this track record, it would now be accurate to say that SEFIG is a consolidated scientific society and is widely recognised at both national and international level.
2020 - 2024
La Junta Directiva de la SEFIG, correspondiente al período 2020-2024, fue presidida por Profa. María J. Blanco-Prieto, con Ana Fernández Carballido como tesorera y María Victoria Lozano como secretaria, la cual comenzó su mandato en marzo de 2020, coincidiendo con la declaración del estado de emergencia debido a la COVID-19. Ante esta situación excepcional, la SEFIG organizó jornadas para adaptar la docencia al formato online y creó diversos recursos educativos, como bancos de preguntas para exámenes y vídeos de prácticas, con el fin de apoyar a los profesores en su labor docente. Además, se establecieron Seminarios Científico-Técnicos virtuales que abordaron temas de interés para los socios, y la SEFIG co-organizó una jornada científica junto con AEFI, dedicada a la innovación en la industria farmacéutica.
A nivel internacional, la SEFIG fortaleció su relación con la Federación Europea de Ciencias Farmacéuticas (EUFEPS; European Federation for Pharmaceutical Sciences). Más concretamente, la SEFIG organiza una sesión científica en su congreso anual, y además, la EUFEPS patrocina una conferencia plenaria en los congresos de la SEFIG. Asimismo, se estableció la “PhD competition”, donde la SEFIG elige la mejor tesis doctoral de entre los doctorandos de varias universidades españolas. El candidato seleccionado compite en el congreso anual de EUFEPS junto a representantes de otras sociedades europeas. En las dos primeras ediciones, los candidatos españoles lograron un destacado segundo y tercer puesto, respectivamente. Finalmente, durante este periodo, la SEFIG se integró en la Confederación de Sociedades Científicas de España (COSCE), dentro de la vocalía 3 “Ciencias de la vida y de la salud”.
