PHARMED is a post-graduate programme in pharmaceutical medicine/drug development sciences. Pharmaceutical medicine is classically defined as the medical scientific discipline concerned with the discovery, development, evaluation, registration, monitoring and medical aspects of marketing of medicines for the benefit of patients and Public Health. The purpose of PHARMED is to provide a specific training for the various functions held in pharmaceutical companies, CROs and regulatory agencies by physicians, pharmacists, doctors in veterinary medicine and masters and PhDs in life sciences.

PHARMED was started in 1992 and the 20th cycle will start in October 2011. The PHARMED Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine is recognised by the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Royal Colleges of Physicians since 2000. Since 2003, the PHARMED course is accredited by the Council for Education in Pharmaceutical Medicine (CEPM) of the International Federation of Associations of Pharmaceutical Physicians (IFAPP). In Belgium PHARMED is one of the training programmes recognized by BioWin, the Health cluster of the Walloon Region.

PHARMED is a member of the European Federation of Courses in Pharmaceutical Medicine (EFCPM) that gathers the courses in pharmaceutical medicine/drug development sciences organized throughout Europe (see enclosed flyer). PHARMED is an official partner in the European IMI PharmaTrain project and adapts its training activity according to the new shared standards of PharmaTrain. IMI stands for the Innovative Medicine Initiative, a Joint Undertaking of the European Commission and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) intended to boost pharmaceutical innovation in Europe.

MDs, pharmacists, doctors in veterinary medicine, masters and PhDs in life sciences are eligible to register. PHARMED is intended for those who want to train for a future career in the pharmaceutical industry as well as for employees of pharmaceutical companies who whish to complement or update their knowledge.

The PHARMED programme follows closely the training syllabus for pharmaceutical medicine issued by PharmaTrain. It is constituted by eight modules of 4 days. With the assignments and homework, this represents 30 ECTS credits. Attendance of the modules can be completed over one or two years. Selective attendance of some modules is also feasible.
All the courses are given in English on the Erasme Campus of the Université Libre de Bruxelles. The faculty is composed of experts from various universities, regulatory authorities and companies (biotech,CROs and big pharma).

A "Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine" (DPM, for physicians) or a degree of "Diploma of University Professional in Pharmaceutical Medicine" (for non physicians) is granted to candidates who have passed with success the examination that consists in three parts :
- four written homeworks
- multiple choice questionnaire
- oral examination on all the topics covered by the programme.
The PHARMED Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine is recognised as equivalent to the UK Diploma awarded by the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom.
A certificate of attendance is delivered to the participants who do not want to sit the examination.