The first independent Hungarian Department of Pharmacology was founded in 1872 in Pest, not long after the establishment of other Pharmacological Departments at foreign universities. Previously, Pharmacology had been taught in the frame of Physiology and later in Pathology. The Department moved to Üllői Street 26 in the academic year of 1884/85, where it continued its teaching and research activities for nearly 100 years. In 1978 it moved to its present place, into the new theoretical block of Semmelweis University (NET building), in which it is located on the 3rd-5th floors. In 1999 the name of the Department changed to the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy which refers to its extended profile.
The current head of the Department is Peter Ferdinandy. Former directors: Kálmán Balogh (1871-1889), Árpád Bókai (Bókay) (1890-1919), Zoltán Vámossy (1919-1939), Béla Issekutz (1939-1962), József Knoll (1963-1993), Károly Kelemen (1993-1994), Zsuzsanna Fürst (1993-2004) and Klára Gyires (2004-2011).
Directors of the department:
Kálmán Balogh
(1871-1888)
Árpád Bókai (Bókay)
(1890-1919)
Zoltán Vámossy
(1919-1939)
Béla Issekutz
(1939-1962)
József Knoll
(1963-1993)
Károly Kelemen
(1993-1994)
Zsuzsanna Fürst
(1994-2004)
Klára Gyires
(2004-2011)
Péter Ferdinandy
(2011-)