When the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences came on the scene 50 years ago, in January 1961, it was a time of optimism and new beginnings. That same month, just two miles from the American Pharmaceutical (now Pharmacists) Association headquarters in Washington, DC, where the journal was published, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as President of the United States.
The journal that emerged under the sure hand of then-editor Edward G. Feldmann was both new and old. It had a new name, having previously been called Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association, Scientific Edition, bore a polished new look, and contained a breadth of new features, including editorials, review articles, and technical articles. The scope was expanded to enhance its scientific content and value. But it was shaped from a foundation built as far back as 1852, when APhA was established and started publishing scientific papers.
Ed guided JPharmSci TM to prominence as the premier journal in the field. Those were heady days for pharmaceutical science as it gained recognition in the broader scientific community. Pharmaceutics, known then as physical pharmacy, had recently evolved into a rigorous discipline led by the legendary professor Takeru Higuchi, also one of JPharmSci TM 's most prolific contributors and the author of the article readers have cited the most from JPharmSci TM : ''Mechanism of Sustained-Action Medication,'' published in 1963. Until the 1960s, pharmaceutical science was viewed by the pharmaceutical industry as a support service that developed traditional dosage forms. During that decade, it became clear that new drug delivery technologies, such as controlled-release formulations, could be the basis of new products, and pharmaceutics emerged as a dynamic research field.
Over the ensuing years, the journal has met changing needs and scientific pursuits while maintaining its focus. Today, APhA is proud to have sus-