During the Opening Ceremony of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) virtual conference, at which over 23 000 participants are registered, Anthony Serracino Inglott, a professor of pharmacy at the Department of Pharmacy of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Malta was presented with the 2020 ASHP Donald E. Francke Medal.

The prestigious award honours pharmacists who have made significant international contributions to advance pharmacy practice.

The instrumental contributions by Professor Serracino-Inglott in the establishment of clinical pharmacy services and collaborative higher education models throughout Europe and his global impact to pharmacy health systems were recognised during the citation in the award ceremony.

His key academic role in the Doctorate in Pharmacy programme offered by the Department of Pharmacy in collaboration with the College of Pharmacy of the University of Illinois at Chicago was recognised.

Professor Serracino Inglott was invited to give the Francke Award Annual Lecture. The theme for this lecture ‘How to think like Francke for a global vision in challenging times’ provided an opportunity for Professor Serracino-Inglott to examine strategies to overcome challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in health-systems.

In this lecture, Professor Serracino Inglott reflected on the transformation of pharmacy education and the emphasis on people-centric pharmaceutical regulatory sciences to ensure patient safety.