knowledge in important fields as a basis for future trends in pharmacotherapy. The symposia will be devoted to the whole spectrum of topics that are of interest to basic and clinical pharmacologists and toxicologists. This spectrum comprises the principles of pharmacology and toxicology, the influence of drugs on inter- and intracellular signalling and on organs and tissues, and applied pharmacology. Last, but not least, the workshops will focus on specific themes of ongoing general interest and fields in which rapid and important progress has recently been made; they will be composed of oral communications selected from the abstracts. Taken together, the programme mirrors the scientific productivity of pharmacologists and their colleagues from neighbouring disciplines. The abstracts of all communications will be published in the official journal of the DGPT, Naunyn-Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology, which this year celebrates its 125th anniversary. The long history of pharmacology in the Germanspeaking countries, which so far has been discussed in the context of academic institutions only, also includes pharmacological laboratories in pharmaceutical companies. Many important drugs have been developed in the Austrian, German and Swiss pharmaceutical industry by medicinal chemists and pharmacologists who were, or still are, members of the DGPT and, hence, consider themselves to be your hosts. It is evident that the general trend towards mergers between pharmaceutical companies of different countries, and the resulting internationalization of research of such ‘global players’, has also included pharmaceutical companies that were originally based exclusively in Germany. Within such new large entities, international cooperation has become an important prerequisite for success. International exchange of results and cooperation between laboratories are equally important between scientists at academic institutions and across the ‘border’ between industrial and academic laboratories. It is the aim of the congress in Munich to facilitate and promote such contacts. Munich, with its many facilities for meeting colleagues and friends, e.g. museums, art collections, concert halls and the opera, Bavarian folkloric events or a ‘Biergarten’, offers an ideal environment for exchanging ideas and fostering friendships. We, the members of the DGPT, appreciate your presence at the XIIIth International Congress of Pharmacology in Munich which, we hope, will be a memorable scientific and social event.