Our roots

In the early 1990’s, members of the pharmacoepidemiology community in Canada came together to organize annual conferences on pharmacoepidemiology, with the first Canadian Pharmacoepidemiology Forum held in Toronto in 1993.

The introduction of the Canadian Association for Population Therapeutics was declared at a September 1995 meeting of the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE), and was followed by a further announcement at the annual Canadian Pharmacoepidemiology Forum in 1996. The first general election of our inaugural Board of Directors occurred in 1996/97.

While pharmacoepidemiology was the initial focus of our membership, our founding leaders did not want to limit the scope or opportunity for future activities and opted for an association name that might support growth and development in other related disciplines such as pharmacoeconomics and the study of other therapeutic interventions.
True to this vision, we have evolved into a dynamic group of like-minded researchers, conducting both epidemiology and economic analyses, who are located in academic, government, consulting and industry arenas. As the voice of population therapeutics in Canada, we are the only national association of its kind committed to fostering ongoing networking and increasing the visibility and recognition of both our members and our shared key priority areas.