Department of Clinical Pharmacy

At a cancer treatment center like Gustave Roussy, the pharmacy does much more than just dispense medications. It manages the entire supply chain for medications and sterile medical devices, from procurement to the pharmaceutical validation of prescriptions, including the production of treatments, quality control, and support for medical teams.

Led by Professor Bernard Do, the Clinical Pharmacy Department operates within an integrated organizational structure that combines clinical pharmacy, production, logistics, radiopharmacy, pharmaceutical technology, pharmaceutical innovation, and clinical trials. This approach enables the department to keep pace with rapid advances in cancer treatments and meet the growing demands of personalized medicine.

Every day, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, healthcare managers, and technical staff work closely with physicians, researchers, and caregivers to ensure safe patient care pathways and guarantee the continuity of treatments.

The Pharmacy Department operates one of the most advanced production platforms, designed to meet the requirements for safety, traceability, and personalized cancer treatments.

Injectable chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments require extremely rigorous preparation. To ensure the quality and safety of these treatments, Gustave Roussy has developed one of the most advanced robotic platforms in the world.

Inaugurated in 2021, the robotic production facility features three robots, each capable of preparing between 60 and 90 doses per day. Every step of the process is monitored: identification of medications, verification of prescribed doses, systematic gravimetric checks, and monitoring of the production environment.

This automation helps enhance patient safety, reduce production times, and support the continued growth of outpatient care. It also enables the preparation of extremely precise doses, particularly for pediatric patients who require highly personalized treatments.

Clinical pharmacy is now a key driver of personalized treatment.

Pharmacists systematically review prescriptions, provide their therapeutic expertise, participate in multidisciplinary meetings, and help optimize treatments. They work alongside medical teams to adjust dosages, anticipate drug interactions, and ensure the safety of the entire treatment journey.

This close collaboration with clinical departments helps improve the quality of care while addressing the challenges of an increasingly complex field of oncology, marked by the steady emergence of new targeted therapies, immunotherapies, and innovative medications.

Every day, the Pharmacy Department transforms scientific innovation into concrete, safe, and personalized treatments. Spanning robotics, clinical pharmacy, research, and precision medicine, it is one of the pillars of Gustave Roussy’s excellence and plays a key role in fulfilling its mission: to provide patients with the most innovative therapies under the best conditions of quality, safety, and responsiveness.

Therapeutic innovation relies on close collaboration between physicians, researchers, and pharmacists.

The department coordinates the pharmaceutical aspects of more than 500 clinical trials and plays an active role in the development, management, and safety oversight of investigational drugs. This expertise makes it an essential partner for the research teams at Gustave Roussy.

The teams are also involved in high-value-added fields such as radiopharmacy, innovative pharmaceutical technology, and the integration of emerging technologies like 3D pharmaceutical printing.

This ability to combine innovation with operational expertise is fully aligned with the goals of the 2026–2030 Institutional Plan, which aims to strengthen the impact of research and accelerate digital transformation for the benefit of patients.

Drawing on its expertise, the Gustave Roussy Pharmacy also addresses patients’ unmet needs, particularly by ensuring treatment continuity through custom-compounded medications.

It also contributes to innovation for the benefit of patients, with new medications such as birabresib, 3D pharmaceutical printing, and the development of new approaches to personalized medicine. 

The Department of Clinical Pharmacy brings together hospital pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, healthcare managers, specialized technicians, and quality experts organized into two major, complementary divisions: the Research & Clinical Division and the Production & Logistics Division.