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·¬ÇÑÉçÇø launches its Pharmacy program. The program was born out of a need for more Pharmacists in the north. At the time, regional, rural and remote Queensland was experiencing a shortage across many health professions. Students who wished to study Pharmacy would relocate to Brisbane and often not return. ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø offered an easily accessible option for students in regional, rural and remote areas to study pharmacy and go on to gain employment where they were needed most.

The program launched with a first-year intake of around 50 students, part of the School of Pharmacy and Molecular Sciences. In the early years, students were taught in Chemistry Laboratories before purpose built facilities opened in Veterinary Science and Public Health in 2001. In state and federal funding was granted to build the now Pharmacy facilities, which gave Pharmacy their own identity and the pharmacy students a home on the Townsville campus. Federal Member for Herbert, Peter Lyndsay OAM, took part in the sod turning and the building officially opened in 2009.

The program produced its first graduates in 2002 and continues, 21 years on, producing highly sought after work-ready graduates with a focus on regional, rural, remote and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. You can now find ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø Pharmacy graduates dotted across Queensland and also occupying high level positions including in the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, Pharmacy Guild of Australia and the Australian Defence Force.