Records of the Greater Philadelphia Committee for Medical-Pharmaceutical Sciences
Series
Identifier: CPP 10/038-01
Scope and Contents
The Records of the Greater Philadelphia Committee for Medical-Pharmaceutical Sciences document the activities of the committee through meeting minutes and correspondence from 1969 until 1984. Researchers should note that information about its first five years, 1963 to 1968, is not present in this collection, and neither is information about its disbanding in 1988. Please the Related Materials note for links to the collections holding these materials. Researchers should also note that there are gaps in the correspondence, namely for the years 1970 and 1971; and that meeting minutes for some later years (1979 through 1984) are sparse.
This collection is divided into four series: Statements of purpose, Members lists, Meeting minutes, and Correspondence.
Series I: Statements of purpose contains photocopies of the original 1963 statement of purpose written when the committee was formed, as well as its revision in 1976.
Series II: Members lists hold mailing lists for the years 1978 to 1980 and attendance sheets, some undated, and some dating from 1971 through 1975.
Series III: Meeting minutes contains the final summary copies of minutes from the Steering Committee, and cover the years 1969 to 1984. Please note that some later years, from 1979 to 1984, are not well-represented; and that minutes from the committee’s first five years (1963 to 1968) and last four years (1984 to 1988) are not in this collection. Please the Related Materials note for links to the collections holding these materials.
Series IV: Correspondence dates from 1969, and 1972 through 1984, and makes up the bulk of the collection. The topics of the correspondence range from meeting agendas and dates of next meetings; dues reminders; speaker curriculum vitae; some financial reports; and letter regarding legislation the committee was especially interested in. Of note is the latter category; included in this series are letters to and regarding the General Assembly of Pennsylvania’s House bill no. 473 (1976), which (among other things) required pharmacies to provide a list of interchangeable drugs (i.e. generic drugs that could be substituted for patented, name-brand drugs). The committee opposed this bill.
Correspondence from the committee’s first five years (1963 to 1968) and last three years (1985 to 1988), as well as the years 1970 and 1971, are not present.
This collection is divided into four series: Statements of purpose, Members lists, Meeting minutes, and Correspondence.
Series I: Statements of purpose contains photocopies of the original 1963 statement of purpose written when the committee was formed, as well as its revision in 1976.
Series II: Members lists hold mailing lists for the years 1978 to 1980 and attendance sheets, some undated, and some dating from 1971 through 1975.
Series III: Meeting minutes contains the final summary copies of minutes from the Steering Committee, and cover the years 1969 to 1984. Please note that some later years, from 1979 to 1984, are not well-represented; and that minutes from the committee’s first five years (1963 to 1968) and last four years (1984 to 1988) are not in this collection. Please the Related Materials note for links to the collections holding these materials.
Series IV: Correspondence dates from 1969, and 1972 through 1984, and makes up the bulk of the collection. The topics of the correspondence range from meeting agendas and dates of next meetings; dues reminders; speaker curriculum vitae; some financial reports; and letter regarding legislation the committee was especially interested in. Of note is the latter category; included in this series are letters to and regarding the General Assembly of Pennsylvania’s House bill no. 473 (1976), which (among other things) required pharmacies to provide a list of interchangeable drugs (i.e. generic drugs that could be substituted for patented, name-brand drugs). The committee opposed this bill.
Correspondence from the committee’s first five years (1963 to 1968) and last three years (1985 to 1988), as well as the years 1970 and 1971, are not present.
Dates
- 1963; 1969-1984
Creator
Biographical / Historical
The Greater Philadelphia Committee for Medical-Pharmaceutical Sciences (GPCMPS) was established by The College of Physicians of Philadelphia in 1963, and the Committee held its first meeting on Aril 18, 1963. Members of the pharmaceutical and medical fields in the Philadelphia area formed the GPCMPS in response to the 1962 Drug Amendments of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The 1962 amendments introduced a requirement for drug manufacturers to provide proof of the effectiveness and safety of their drugs before approval, required drug advertising to disclose accurate information about side effects, and stopped cheap generic drugs being marketed as expensive drugs under new trade names as new “breakthrough” medications.
The GPCMPS’ statement of purpose stated that the committee was “proud of the great joint accomplishments of pharmaceutical science and medical science in the development of new drugs over the years, which has made the level of health care in the United States higher than anywhere else in the world, and is anxious that new laws and new regulations not be permitted to interfere with the continuation of past dramatic progress.” Its “purpose [was] a broad concern for medical-pharmaceutical research, in all of its phases, and for all related matters that affect the health of the American people.”
In 1976, the GPCMPS updated its statement of purpose to:
“The purposes of the GPCMPS are to advance patient care, medical education, pharmaceutical and clinical research. The means to achieve these purposes shall be to: 1. Promote cooperation and mutual understanding among medical schools, pharmacy schools and the pharmaceutical industry.
2. Influence government activities, legislative or otherwise, in areas related to the health of the public.
3. Disseminate medical knowledge and support medical education.
4. Develop new knowledge required to solve problems related to the health of the public.”
Members of the GPCMPS included Philadelphia-area physicians, medical school professors, and pharmaceutical businessmen such as Lewis Bluemle, M.D., of Thomas Jefferson University; Dr. Walter Cohen of University of Pennsylvania’s Dental School; Joseph DiPalma, M.D., of Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital; John Lyons of Merck, Sharpe, and Dohme; and Sumner Yaffe, M.D., of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (names taken from the 1978-1979 mailing list).
Meeting an average of five to six times a year, the GPCMPS discussed topics related to the member’s research efforts; the state of health care in America; state and federal legislations regarding the pharmaceutical and drug industries, and financially aiding medical schools.
In 1988, the Greater Philadelphia Committee for Medical-Pharmaceutical Sciences was disbanded because recent attempts to redefine and revitalize the committee had failed and because other organizations largely fulfilled the goals and purposes of the original committee.
The GPCMPS’ statement of purpose stated that the committee was “proud of the great joint accomplishments of pharmaceutical science and medical science in the development of new drugs over the years, which has made the level of health care in the United States higher than anywhere else in the world, and is anxious that new laws and new regulations not be permitted to interfere with the continuation of past dramatic progress.” Its “purpose [was] a broad concern for medical-pharmaceutical research, in all of its phases, and for all related matters that affect the health of the American people.”
In 1976, the GPCMPS updated its statement of purpose to:
“The purposes of the GPCMPS are to advance patient care, medical education, pharmaceutical and clinical research. The means to achieve these purposes shall be to: 1. Promote cooperation and mutual understanding among medical schools, pharmacy schools and the pharmaceutical industry.
2. Influence government activities, legislative or otherwise, in areas related to the health of the public.
3. Disseminate medical knowledge and support medical education.
4. Develop new knowledge required to solve problems related to the health of the public.”
Members of the GPCMPS included Philadelphia-area physicians, medical school professors, and pharmaceutical businessmen such as Lewis Bluemle, M.D., of Thomas Jefferson University; Dr. Walter Cohen of University of Pennsylvania’s Dental School; Joseph DiPalma, M.D., of Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital; John Lyons of Merck, Sharpe, and Dohme; and Sumner Yaffe, M.D., of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (names taken from the 1978-1979 mailing list).
Meeting an average of five to six times a year, the GPCMPS discussed topics related to the member’s research efforts; the state of health care in America; state and federal legislations regarding the pharmaceutical and drug industries, and financially aiding medical schools.
In 1988, the Greater Philadelphia Committee for Medical-Pharmaceutical Sciences was disbanded because recent attempts to redefine and revitalize the committee had failed and because other organizations largely fulfilled the goals and purposes of the original committee.
Extent
1.2 Linear feet (3 document boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Overview
The Greater Philadelphia Committee for Medical-Pharmaceutical Sciences (GPCMPS) was established by The College of Physicians of Philadelphia in 1963, and the Committee held its first meeting on Aril 18, 1963. Members of the pharmaceutical and medical fields in the Philadelphia area formed the GPCMPS in response to the 1962 Drug Amendments of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Its “purpose [was] a broad concern for medical-pharmaceutical research, in all of its phases, and for all related matters that affect the health of the American people.”
In 1988, the Greater Philadelphia Committee for Medical-Pharmaceutical Sciences was disbanded because recent attempts to redefine and revitalize the committee had failed and because other organizations largely fulfilled the goals and purposes of the original committee.
The Records of the Greater Philadelphia Committee for Medical-Pharmaceutical Sciences document the activities of the committee through meeting minutes and correspondence from 1969 until 1984. Researchers should note that information about its first five years, 1963 to 1968, is not present in this collection, and neither is information about its disbanding in 1988. Please the Related Materials note for links to the collections holding these materials.
Researchers should also note that there are gaps in the correspondence, namely for the years 1970 and 1971; and that meeting minutes for some later years (1979 through 1984) are sparse.
In 1988, the Greater Philadelphia Committee for Medical-Pharmaceutical Sciences was disbanded because recent attempts to redefine and revitalize the committee had failed and because other organizations largely fulfilled the goals and purposes of the original committee.
The Records of the Greater Philadelphia Committee for Medical-Pharmaceutical Sciences document the activities of the committee through meeting minutes and correspondence from 1969 until 1984. Researchers should note that information about its first five years, 1963 to 1968, is not present in this collection, and neither is information about its disbanding in 1988. Please the Related Materials note for links to the collections holding these materials.
Researchers should also note that there are gaps in the correspondence, namely for the years 1970 and 1971; and that meeting minutes for some later years (1979 through 1984) are sparse.
Creator
- Title
- Records of the Greater Philadelphia Committee for Medical-Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Author
- Chrissie Perella
- Date
- February 2019
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia Repository
