Clinical pharmacology and pharmacoepidemiology: synergistic interactions.

There are many opportunities for synergistic interactions between clinical pharmacology and pharmacoepidemiology. They range from the applications of molecular biology and pharmacogenetics to population studies, and vice versa, to population pharmacokinetics, to the evolution of well-designed, large scale clinical trials in less contrived settings. Ultimately, the synergy can contribute to intelligent and hopefully more efficient drug development, and when a drug goes to market, a better understanding of what will happen.