A Journey Through History: From Apothecaries to Modern Pharmacies

Did you know that the history of pharmacy began more than a thousand years ago? Join us on this journey through time and discover how this profession has evolved, while always remaining a source of trust and reassurance for people.

Where did the pharmacy profession begin?

The origins of pharmacy date back to around 2100 BC in Mesopotamia, where there were already tablets containing recipes for making medicinal preparations based on plants, minerals and honey.

From Mesopotamia we travel to Ancient Egypt, where the Ebers Papyrus was written around 1500 BC. This document is one of the earliest recorded pharmacopoeias and contained more than 700 formulas made with substances, mostly natural, such as saffron, myrrh and even some derived from insects.

In the Middle Ages, scientific and medical knowledge was kept in monasteries, where monks grew medicinal plants and made ointments and treatments to cure various illnesses and conditions. This is where apothecaries emerged and, with them, the profession of the apothecary. In these places, remedies were prepared by blending medicine, alchemy and even superstition. 

In the 16th century, during the Renaissance, pharmacy became independent from medicine, which helped establish the profession more firmly. Apothecaries, the forerunners of modern pharmacists, formed guilds, opened their own premises and began practising the profession as such.

The birth of modern pharmacy

We could say that modern pharmacy began when Paul Ehrlich developed the first synthetic drug in 1910, Salvarsán. This medicine was intended to treat syphilis without harming the patient, and it was created from arsenic compounds. It was the first time chemistry had been used to produce a drug. This changed when Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, the first antibiotic in history.

Contemporary pharmacy: Looking after your health

Throughout this post, we have taken a journey across different eras to understand the origins of pharmacy and the pharmacist, that ancient and indispensable profession dedicated to looking after your health. From apothecaries, we have moved on to manufacturing millions of medicines in modern laboratories around the world, and we can easily access them by buying from a pharmacy; nowadays there are even online pharmacies.

Its evolution reflects not only advances in chemistry and medicine, but also a constant commitment to people’s health and wellbeing. Thanks to the progress of pharmacy and medicine, today we can enjoy full health, and that is why at Farmaciasdirect we want to congratulate and thank all pharmacists today, 25 September, on World Pharmacists Day.