The apothecary
Bernardin Duranc, an apothecary from Montpellier, had the idea of establishing a “Droguier” as early as 1588 to demonstrate, before the “medical students,” the preparation of drugs—the medicinal formulations of the time.
Having fallen into relative obscurity, the Droguier was revived with the founding of the School of Pharmacy in 1803. The second-largest drugstore in France after the one in Paris, it is one of the last living witnesses to the history of European pharmacopoeia. It houses a unique collection of approximately 15,000 drug samples, most of which are of plant origin.
The Droguier complex was designated a Historic Monument on November 20, 2009, by the Languedoc-Roussillon Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs.
On December 1, 2021, the Droguier Chair, chaired by the director of the School of Pharmacy, was established within the University of Montpellier Foundation.
