The Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) has updated its constitution to fill the gap left by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s (RPS) transition to the Royal College of Pharmacy.
It announced today that its principal statutory objective is “to safeguard, maintain the honour, and promote the interests of pharmacists in the exercise of their profession”.
The PDA said adopting the “historic chartered objective” will provide clarity on “what the complementary roles of the two organisations will be”.
Read more: ‘New era’: RPS transitions to Royal College of Pharmacy
It added changing its constitution is “not a criticism of the new Royal College” but addresses their new role which is “broader, non-pharmacist specific, system-facing and constitutionally centred on public-interest obligations”.
PDA chair Mark Koziol said the change to the PDA’s constitution will support pharmacists by “representing their interests, supporting their professional judgement and defending their reputation through the realities of modern practice”.
Public benefit
In March 2025, the PDA urged the RPS to “abandon its hastily convened ballot” on whether it would become a royal college.
One of its reasons was because the “principal objective” of the new Royal College “would be to act in the public interest – the previous objective to safeguard, maintain the honour and promote the interests of pharmacists would be lost”.
At the time, the RPS said it was “disappointed by the position taken by the PDA” and “championing pharmacy to government, industry and others will remain central” to its work.
Read more: ‘Resign immediately’: RPS royal college row heats up as vote looms
The Royal College of Pharmacy now has charitable status after it announced yesterday it officially transitioned from the RPS.
Former RPS chief executive Paul Bennett previously explained that royal colleges are “now typically expected to be registered charities” when discussing whether to change to one in 2022.
The government says to be a charity, its charitable purposes “must be for the public benefit”.
Read more: Royal college row: RPS hits back at critics as CPhOs say ‘vote yes’
Its royal charter now states the objects of the college “shall be, for the public benefit”, adding it is “to advance education in the science and practice of pharmacy; to preserve and protect good health and to relieve sickness”.
It is also “to relieve poverty, financial hardship or other distress among current and former members and associate members of the college and their dependants and among those studying or training to be a pharmacist”.
Pharmacist-first
The Royal College can no longer use its previous objective, and the PDA said it now has a “different constitutional focus” on “public interest, education and standards”.
“These aims are necessary and laudable, but they also provide a significant clarification as to where the emphasis of the Royal College must now be,” the PDA said.
Koziol said the transition of the RPS to the Royal College is a “deliberate and significant evolution in the professional leadership landscape for pharmacy” but the “need for pharmacist-first support in day-to-day practice has not diminished and continues to grow”.
Read more: Why I’ve launched a campaign against the RPS’s planned changes
He said the PDA has “always existed” to offer leadership and protect pharmacists’ interests.
Its constitutional change “simply codifies what the PDA already does” as it will “never seek to duplicate the role of a Royal College”.
Koziol added the PDA “takes great pride in adopting the old charter objective” and it will develop the “pharmacist-first” role further to “ensure that practising pharmacists have a dedicated, independent organisation”.
Read more: PDA reveals 3% pay increase for Superdrug pharmacy staff
It comes after the PDA announced this week it was doubling its donation to Pharmacist Support over the next month to celebrate its 185th birthday.
