AN INDUSTRIALIST LOOKS AT THE COSMETIC INDUSTRY 661 , . We must ask, too, if instead of being a sizeable industry, making sure- fire profits, it has now become, through its expansion, a high-risk industry as well? I do sincerely suggest that the trade and scientific bodies should strengthen their bonds, both here and throughout the world, the better to counter the effects of arduous legislation, which various governments seem bent on perpetrating in order to placate their voters, and which is unnecessarily prejudicial to the industry. (Received: 1st May 1969) The Medal was presented to the lecturer by Mr. C. Pugh, President of the Society.

./. Soc. Cos• etic Chemists 20 663-674 (1969) {•) 1969 Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Great Britain The changing pattern of topical dermatological therapy j. w. HADGRAFT* Presented at the S•ymposium on "Skin", organised by the Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Great Britain, at Eastbourne, Sussex, on 20th November 1968. Synopsis--The introduction of antibiotics, corticosteroids and antifungal agents has had a profound effect on topical dermatological treatments. An analysis of prescriptions written for patients suffering from a number of common skin diseases in the years 1951, 1957 and 1967, has shown a general trend towards the use of fewer medicaments with more specific indications. The introduction of cosmetically acceptable preparations has increased the complexity of the formulations used and these can easily be adversely affected if mixed or diluted with other vehicles or preparations. The development of new, effective medicaments, particularly in the antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and antifungal fields has revolutionised topical dermatological therapy. Whereas, some twenty years ago, many topically used agents were based on empiricism and tradition, today the majority of therapeutic agents in this field are used rationally for specific purposes. These changes have stemmed not simply from the addition of corticosteroids, the newer antibiotics and antifungal agents to the range of preparations available to the dermatologist but are, in large measure, a logical consequence of an improved scientific knowledge of skin disease. In the latter field, cosmetic chemists have made no small contri- bution in providing more detailed knowledge on percutaneous absorption. The influence of the cosmetic chemist on dermatology, moreover, has been to improve the cosmetic acceptability of dermatological preparations. This *Royal Free Hospital, Gray's Inn Road, London, W.C. 1. 663