Background: History of pharmaceutical industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) has its roots from 1951. Importance of domestic industry not just from economical aspect but also from public health perspective and as scientific base has not been evaluated previously. Objective: The aim of this article was to provide the review of the pharmaceutical industry developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, its roots, current position and future perspectives.. Methods: Research of published scientific papers as well other documents and archives of pharmaceutical manufacturers has been conducted. We have also analysed market trends focusing on domestic producers. Results and Discussion: Over more than seventy years of B&H pharmaceutical industry has been developing. During Yugoslavia only two companies existed of which one, Bosnalijek is still present, while Sanofarm has been closed. After 1996, expansion of domestic manufacturers started and today six companies are present. They are mainly oriented to generic drugs production in different forms. Total market share of domestic producers in B&H is 20-25% which is relatively low comparing to other countries. Many of domestic manufacturers are exporting their products to some of the most demanding markets in Europe and Middle East. Conclusion: Long history of domestic drug manufacturers in B&H gives solid legacy for future developments. Importance of local producers has been confirmed during war in B&H and COVID-19 pandemic as a crisis situation, mainly from public health perspective and sustainable supply of essential medicines. Higher support by state and collaboration with academia in order to expand portfolio, especially in area of biologic medicines is required in future.

Background: Mobile pharmacies are special organizational units or infrastructures that serve to supply medicines to remote communities or are stationed on ships or as such exist during war conflicts on the battlefields to provide first aid to the wounded and to provide the necessary medicines. The establishment of mobile pharmacies is regulated by the law of each state and only preparations approved by law can be found in it. There are also regulations for the good storage and warehousing of these drugs. Objective: The aim of this article was to provide an overview of the available literature on the topic “Mobile pharmacies through history”, which shows the development and progress in the structure and function of mobile pharmacies throughout history. Methods: This is an descriptive study based on the searched available literature from the on-line databases regarding to present a historical overview of mobile pharmacies during the most significant war events in Europe and the USA. Results and Discussion: Mobile pharmacies were first mentioned in Egypt and the Roman Empire, but it was not until 1500 that military and ship’s doctors began using them, and wealthy nobles had their own boxes of medicines, which they carried on long voyages. Mobile pharmacies became more and more popular, so in the 18th century, practical manuals on the use of the contents of the box began to be published. The importance of a mobile pharmacy was shown in the wars, where people, before their appearance, died due to the impossibility of providing first aid on the battlefield. The advanced medicine and pharmacy that developed on land, greatly affected the health care at the sea. The constant incidence of infectious diseases, poverty and inadequate nutrition, insecurity of navigation and long voyages are the main reasons why sailors often fell ill and were exposed to injuries at work. A situation like that required that the problem of health protection on ships gets solved in accordance with the then principles of medicine and pharmacy. Conclusion: Authors demonstrated the importance of mobile pharmacies in treating and providing medical protection on boat trips. Regarding the ship’s pharmacies, pharmacists have the role of supplying ships with medicines, conducting training for captains and ship staff, advising shipping companies and captains on equipping ship pharmacies and advising on the preparation of national regulations and national ship pharmacy supply policy.

Introduction: Pharmacy and medicine belong to the oldest human activities, so the development of these sciences is closely related to the socio-economic, cultural and religious opportunities of the nations within which they have been developing. Goals: To present the historical influence of pharmacy on the development of the human being from its very beginning; To present the historical link between pharmaceutical and medical activity, as well as early development of independent pharmaceutical activity; To present the historical influence of pharmacists on the development of botany and pharmacognosy and to present the historical influence of the first written herbarium and incunabula on the development of pharmacognosy. Material and Methods: The article has a descriptive character, and represents a systematic review of the literature dealing with this topic. Results: The roots of pharmacy started to the very beginning of human civilization, when people collected various medicinal herbs and try to alleviate their health problems, pain and suffering. The scientific foundations of the pharmacy were set up in the antique period by the books of Dioskurides and Galen, and its further development continued in the mid-century, at the beginning by rewriting famous parts of ancient literature, and later by writing new discoveries (the base of this development was represented by South Italy) so that in 1240, for the first time in history, came the separation of doctors and pharmacists, and at the beginning of the 13th century the opening of the first pharmacy. Conclusion: The effort to maintain knowledge of medicinal herbs and its practical application has led to the writing of a large number of recipes books, the forerunners of today’s pharmacopeia, while the aspiration to classify medicinal herbs, and the desire to present medicinal herbs to ordinary people, has led to a large number of herbaria, making the knowledge and descriptions of plants available to many, not just the nobility. Descriptions of plants in herbaria and later in incunabula lead to the development of pharmacognosy, and to the opening of the first Department for pharmacognosy, 1545 in Padua.

The time interval from the 9th to the 13th century remained known as the “Golden period of the Arab science”, and a significant place among the taught sciences are occupied by Medicine and Pharmacy. In the history of medicine, Islamic medicine, also known as Arabic medicine, refers to the science of medicine developed in the Islamic Golden Age, and written in Arabic Arabs were able to use their cultural and natural resources and trade links to contribute to the strong development of pharmacy. After the collapse of the Arab rule, the Arab territorial expanses and cultural heritage were taken over by the Turks. Although scientific progress in the Turkish period slowed down due to numerous unfavorable political-economic and other circumstances, thanks to the Turks, Arab culture and useful Islamic principles expanded to the territory of our homeland of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Significant role in the transfer of Arabic medical and pharmaceutical knowledge was also attributed to the Sephardic Jews who, with their arrival, continued to perform their attar activities, which were largely based on Arab achievements. However, insufficiently elaborated, rich funds of oriental medical and pharmaceutical handwriting testify that Oriental science has nurtured in these areas as well, and that the Arab component in a specific way was intertwined with other cultures and traditions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Introduction: Folk medicine represents part of the folk culture, when we first think about the rural culture with characteristic of the rural population in the pre-industrial period. The difference between official and folk medicine is manifested in the education, knowledge and social status of those practicing folk medicine as well as their patients. The most common ways of treating were the treatment by use of herbs, magic and treatments based on religious beliefs. So, it is of no surprise that folk medicine was the main form of treatment for the inhabitants of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) in the past. In addition to many herbalists, quacks and religious officials who treated the patients with records, there were also spells, i.e. women who, by pronouncing various magic formulas, treated the patients. Each village had at least one person who practiced this type of treatment. Discussion: Numerous, original documents and records have been stored in the archives of the monastery throughout B&H, including very valuable literature in the field of medicine and pharmacy, which testifies of the very important role of Franciscans in the treatment of the population in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The most extensive health service of the Franciscans since their arrival in Bosnia in 1291 was the decadent era of Turkish rule, mostly from the 17th century until the Austro-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1978. In the sources of national thought, and on the basis of professional medical books, the Franciscans created recipes for the treatment of certain diseases, which they then collected in so-called „Ljekaruse” (Collections of folk recipes), and over time there was a lot of them. Most of the ljekarusa are hand-printed booklets, for some it is known the time and place of creation, and less often the author of the text. Ljekarusa is a very important source of information about our medical past. Some of them were processed and recorded, while a significant part of these manuscripts remained unknown to the general public. They included recipes for various diseases and the names they were called by the people. Professional terms were not used, nor were the illnesses and the recipes ordered in any order or systematic manner. We learn from them that our people were once treated in the absence of doctors and pharmacists. Most commonly mentioned are various herbs, animal parts, mineral substances, and some of these recipes can be even applied today. All medicines continue to be transcribed by the people and valued as good old medical receipts. Conclusion: This review article presents a book (ljekaruse) that was archived in several famous monasteries in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

All of these centuries-old records contain enormous treasures, and the modern medicine is increasingly searching for the sources of natural remedies. The Franciscans should be credited for carefully collecting the methods folk treatment and passed them on to future generations. In the words of Br. Marko Karamatić: „The fact that the Friars were engaged in healthcare, that they became the first graduate doctors in Bosnia and Herzegovina, that they wrote” herbal manuals „ and other medical records, is the result of historical opportunities in these areas, and this activity became one of the most important tasks for the Franciscans. They performed their duties regardless of the circumstances.

The Arab cultural heritage was an era of invaluable preservation and development of numerous teachings, including biomedical sciences. The golden period of Arab medicine deserves special attention in the history of medicine and pharmacy, as it was the period of rapid translation of works from Greek and Persian cultures into Arabic. They preserved their culture, and science from decay, and then adopted them to continue building their science on theirs as a basis. After the fall of Arabian Caliphate, Arabian pharmacy, continued to persevere, and spread through Turkish Caliphate until its fall in the First World War. That way, Arabian pharmacy will be spread to new areas that had benefited from it, including the area of occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina. Because of the vast territorial scope of the Ottoman Empire, the focus of this paper is description of developing pharmacy in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the time of Ottoman reign.