Race, Ethnic and Socioeconomic Influences on Clinical Pharmacology. A reflection from the IUPHAR World Smart Medication Day 2026.

The 2026 IUPHAR World Smart Medication Day, organized by the Medical and Clinical Pharmacology Committee of the Clinical and Translational Section of IUPHAR, was held under the theme "Race, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Influences on Clinical Pharmacology." The thematic learning sessions can be accessed on the IUPHAR website (https://iuphar.org/pages/world-smart-medication-day), and the winning posters in each competition category are presented in Figure 1. This highly relevant topic addresses both pharmacological considerations and the broader social determinants influencing health and access to healthcare. Racial and ethnic diversity encompasses social, economic, and cultural factors that shape prevention and treatment outcomes. These data can help uncover disparities, improve reporting and inclusive recruitment, and identify the sources and consequences of health inequities, thereby improving health outcomes, treatment effectiveness, and equity in research and clinical practice. This reflection paper highlights the importance of racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic influences in clinical pharmacology, as knowledge gaps perpetuate inequities ineducation, research, and healthcare, as illustrated by the IUPHAR WSMD presentations.