The mission of the Clinical Pharmacology Department of Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital is to guarantee safe, effective and individualized use of medicines, especially in patients with complex clinical situations. It works to ensure the best therapeutic response and prevent the occurrence of adverse reactions. It collaborates closely with all the hospital's clinical teams to ensure that every patient receives the right drug, at the optimal dose and administration schedule. It also leads the Hospital Pharmacovigilance Programme with a firm commitment to patient safety.

Research activity is also a fundamental pillar of the department. It takes part in clinical research projects through competitive clinical trials and observational studies, in collaboration with other care departments at the Hospital, research centres on the Can Ruti campus and external hospitals.

In addition, the service is distinguished by a clear commitment to teaching. It teaches on the Medicine Degree programme at the Faculty of Medicine of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), and it trains residents in Clinical Pharmacology. With the aim of improving care excellence, the service also actively contributes to continuing education programmes for healthcare professionals.

In this way, the Clinical Pharmacology Department has established itself as a central reference care department of Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital, generating real synergies between care, research and teaching in the field of pharmacotherapy and patient safety.

Highlights of the Clinical Pharmacology Service 

• The new Board of Directors of the Spanish Society of Clinical Pharmacology is established, with Eva Montané as secretary
• Clinical Pharmacology residents present a clinical snapshot on immunotherapy-associated Triple M syndrome at the 3rd Pharmacovigilance Day.
• Residents in Clinical Pharmacology present a clinical case of particular interest at the Pharmacovigilance Day
   

Adverse Drug Reactions

Adverse drug reactions (ADR) are harmful and unintended responses to a medication. Approximately 10% of hospital admissions are due to this cause, and between 10 and 20% of patients experience an ADR during their hospital stay.

While the vast majority of ADRs are mild, ADRs can be serious and even fatal. The factors that predispose to their occurrence are age, conditions such as renal insufficiency, polypharmacy and certain genetic polymorphisms.

The Hospital Pharmacovigilance Program is responsible for promoting the safe use of medications through the detection of suspected ADRs, their evaluation and reporting to the responsible regional authorities.

Genetic Polymorphisms

Genetic polymorphisms can predispose to the occurrence of ADRs through different mechanisms, especially through genes involved in hepatic metabolism.

Broadly speaking, slow metabolizer individuals will experience a slowing down in the elimination of drugs metabolized by the liver, resulting in a higher risk of presenting higher plasma concentrations and, therefore, a risk of toxicity. Conversely, ultrarapid metabolizer individuals will experience an acceleration in the elimination of drugs metabolized via this pathway, producing a decrease in plasma concentrations and, as a result, there is a risk that the drug will be ineffective.

Phase I and II Clinical Drug Trials

Early-phase clinical trials include the first research studies in the development of a new drug. Phase I clinical trials are the first administration of the drug in humans.

In these cases, the main objective is to verify that the drug is well tolerated and, often, also to collect pharmacokinetic data (showing what the body does to the drug) and pharmacodynamic data (showing what the drug does to the body).

These trials are normally carried out in healthy volunteers; however, there are cases, such as antineoplastic chemotherapy drugs, in which they are carried out with cancer patients.

In order to minimize the risks arising from the administration of drugs in the development phase, these studies are carried out in the Multipurpose Clinical Research Unit (UPIC).

The Clinical Pharmacology Department has a clear research and innovation vocation. It is part of the Drug Research Ethics Committee (CEIm) of the Hospital.

In addition to its line of research in pharmacovigilance, it collaborates with and supports various projects and research teams at the hospital and at the Can Ruti Campus.

Pharmacovigilance Research

Pharmacovigilance constitutes the department's main and distinctive line of research, with contributions recognized at national and international level. It includes projects, studies and publications on:

• Adverse drug reactions (ADR) in special populations such as children or elderly people
• Specific ADRs such as reactions with fatal outcome or infections in patients treated with immunosuppressants
• ADRs related to genetic polymorphisms
• Hospitalized patients who experience drug-related falls
• ADRs recorded in the Hospital Pharmacovigilance Program database (RutiRAM), with a sex perspective
• Clinical ADR maps: in 2023, the Department designed and launched the innovative "Mapa-RAM" Project, which supports clinical decision-making on pharmacological treatment. The project includes two clinical maps: In the 2025 call for the Strategic Health Action, the Carlos III Health Institute granted funding to the Mapa-RAM project.
  • Clinical map for the automated, real-time detection of hospitalized patients with certain ADRs
  • Clinical map for the prevention of ADRs in hospitalized patients, which automatically and in real time detects patients at high risk of presenting an ADR during hospital admission

Other Lines of Research

• Effectiveness and efficiency of the implementation of pharmacogenetic biomarkers with pre-emptive genotyping in the National Health System
• Drug utilization studies
• Vaccines and other products against tuberculosis and COVID-19

Research Collaboration

We collaborate with various research projects and teams at the hospital, as well as with other institutions at the Can Ruti campus. We are currently participating in:

• Studies on hypophosphatemia related to the administration of ferric carboxymaltose (PI: Dr. Guardiola, Day Hospital)
• Phase I clinical trials on the consumption of energy drinks and/or alcohol. (PI: Dr. Pérez-Mañá)
• Pharmacogenetics: National collaborative studies PREVESTATGx and TRANSPGx to evaluate the efficacy and efficiency of the implementation of pharmacogenetic biomarkers through an early genotyping strategy. (PIs-HUGTiP: Dr. Alonso & Dr. Vila)
• Teaching innovation: The AvalUAB Project, a webapp to assess student satisfaction with teaching activities in real time (UD-GTIP Coordination Team of the UAB)

The physicians of the department are professors in the Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics at the UAB Faculty of Medicine. At the Can Ruti Campus, they take on responsibilities in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, as well as continuing education tasks.

Undergraduate Teaching

The department actively participates in the theoretical and practical teaching of Medicine degree students at the Germans Trias i Pujol Teaching Unit in the following subjects:

• 3rd year:
  • General Pharmacology (subject coordinators)
  • Integrated Learning of Medicine (AIM III)
• 5th year: Clinical Pharmacology (subject coordinators)
• 6th year:
  • Simulation Applied to Medical and Surgical Knowledge
  • Integrated Learning of Medicine and Bioinformatics (AIM V)
  • Supervision of Final Degree Projects

Postgraduate Teaching

• Supervision of doctoral theses
• Practicum for the University Master's Degree in Pharmacology at the UAB
• Supervision of Final Master's Projects
• Specialized training of medical residents (MIR)
  Information of interest for residents: For more information, contact ✉︎ directly with the resident tutor of our department, Dr. Olga Hladun.
  • Clinical pharmacology is a specialty with many career opportunities, both in public and private healthcare. The cross-cutting profile of the clinical pharmacologist is essential in tertiary-level hospitals, in the world of research and clinical drug trials, in the pharmaceutical industry, in national or international regulatory agencies and in training such as university teaching. Clinical pharmacology also offers many opportunities in the field of university teaching
  • We have one accredited annual MIR position
  • Training takes place in an environment conducive to learning and with individualized supervision of residents.
  • Specialized training lasts four years and is organized according to a teaching guide structured by competencies and rotations, which includes an 18-month period of clinical rotations in various departments of the hospital, with the rest in specialized units or areas of the department and external rotations at other centers of excellence
  • The department welcomes residents from other hospitals and/or other specialties who wish to carry out training rotations
  • We offer the possibility of starting a doctoral thesis during residency

► Check out the latest news about the residents in the Clinical Pharmacology Department.

• Clinical Pharmacology residents present a clinical snapshot on immunotherapy-associated Triple M syndrome at the 3rd Pharmacovigilance Day.
• Residents in Clinical Pharmacology present a clinical case of particular interest at the Pharmacovigilance Day

Continuing Education

• Department sessions:
  • Daily clinical sessions on pharmacotherapeutic interconsultations
  • Weekly clinical sessions on pharmacovigilance
  • Sessions of the Clinical Pharmacology Update Course, accredited by the Catalan Council for Continuing Education of Health Professions (CCFCPS)
  • Monthly sessions on research methodology and research protocols evaluated by the Drug Research Committee (CEIm)
• The department gives sessions to other departments, as well as participates in various conferences at the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital in the field of pharmacovigilance and patient safety
• Congresses and symposia. The department encourages its members to participate actively and continuously in the main national and international scientific congresses of the specialty