The Department of Pharmacology was started in Andhra Medical College in 1924 headed by Dr. Varghese, as the first professor, in the first floor of Rajah Panagal building. Admissions started with 32 Undergraduate seats, which were later enhanced to 150 seats in 1993, to 200 seats in 2012, and finally to 250 seats in 2020.

Post graduate training commenced in 1946 with one seat, under the able guidance of Professor Dr. V. Iswariah, and has been consistently continued under successive Professors and Heads of the Department till today, with all seats recognised by the Medical Council of India/National Medical Council. Post graduate seats were increased to two in the year 2003, to 4 seats in the year 2011, which were further enhanced to 10 seats in the year 2023.

With a glorious history spanning a century, it becomes inevitable to speak of the distinguished Pharmacologists that have helped the Department achieve the greatest standards, establishing its status as a centre for excellence for education as well as research of the highest quality in the field of Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

Dr. V. Iswariah was a Pharmacologist par excellence and served as the Professor and Head of the Department from 1933 to 1949. He was very insistent that Pharmacologists be involved in Therapeutics (Clinics). He was instrumental in introducing M.D. in Pharmacology and Therapeutics in Andhra University with two examiners in Pharmacology and two in Medicine with practicals and clinical examination. He was one of the authors of Textbook of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics by David JC, Ishwaraiah V and Guruswami MN.

Dr. A.V. Ramalingam was an eminent Pharmacologist who served as the Head of the Department for two tenures, 1954 to 1965 and then again from 1966 to 1969. After his first tenure, he was succeeded by Dr. M.Y. Ansari, who served as the Head of the Department as well as the Principal from 1965 to 1966.

The Department owes a lot of its current prestige to Dr. G. Nirmala, who, through her academic as well as administrative prowess, raised the bar very high for teaching and research in the field of Pharmacology. She was the longest serving Head of the Department for over 22 years, from 1970 to 1992. Meanwhile, she also headed the institution in her capacity as the Principal from 1986 to 1998. She also served as the Principal of Guntur Medical College.

For a few months in 1992, the department was headed by Dr. Akhtar Aziz, who went on to become the Principal of Osmania Medical College.

Dr. R. Murali Krishna was a notable Pharmacologist of his time who made significant contributions to the field of experimental pharmacology. He headed the Department from 1992 to 1999 and also authored the Book for Experimental Pharmacology.

The Department has had the privilege of being administered by 15 remarkable Heads of Department, many of whom were doyens of this discipline. This legacy is now being carried forward by our current Head of the Department, Dr. D. Syamala, under whose impeccable leadership, the Department is on its way to scale even greater heights.

Teaching and training undergraduate students (300 hrs) is done as per NMC and YSR university norms. As a part of academic curriculum, we conduct Seminars and Clinical case discussions for undergraduate students. We conduct Sobhanadri Achari & Seshavataram Nandyal Memorial Gold medal examination in Pharmacology and award Gold medal for UG merit students.

Teaching and training Post graduate students (3 years course) is done as per NMC and YSR university norms. Conducting activities or post graduate students such as seminars, journal clubs, case discussions, group discussions, formative assessments, pharmacovigilance postings and discussions on protocol writing as well as on dissertation works, is diligently undertaken. District Residency Programme (DRP) and Peripheral Postings are also scheduled for Post graduate students. Teaching B.Sc nursing and B.Sc paramedical students is also done as per YSR university norms.

The Department boasts of well-equipped laboratories with modern instruments for Computer Assistant Learning, clinical pharmacology as well as post graduate research. The Department has a museum of its own with drug samples, crude drugs, charts and photographs of the scientists. The Department has been conducting integrated teaching programs actively. An educational tour of a pharmaceutical company for the students is organised each year. The central animal house is under the control of the Department of Pharmacology and is located near the twin lecture gallery. There are 4 chambers for small animals, a large chamber for sheep and a pond for frogs.

The Pharmacovigilance wing was established in the year 2012 and our institute is now an Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Centre (AMC).

The Department has regularly organised workshops on Good Clinical Practices in the years 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021.The GCP workshop of 2018 was organised in collaboration with Abbott Academy and (Prof) Dr. M.U.R. Naidu, one of the most noted Pharmacologists of today.

The Department of Pharmacology at Andhra Medical College stands strong as one of the foundational pillars of modern medicine, contributing through both training and research to all medical specialities alike by instilling in all of its students the vital principles of evidence-based pharmacology and therapeutics; striving tirelessly to uphold its status as a centre of excellence.