Pediatric Pharmacotherapy: Why the Fundamentals (Still) Matter.

Pediatric pharmacotherapy has evolved to encompass a broad array of clinical, regulatory, research, and drug development activities. Yet nearly everything done today builds on foundational elements of the discipline. Through examples from a career in pediatric pharmacology and therapeutics, this article challenges readers to 1) consider how often they inspect the foundations that underlie their career activities and 2) reflect on how they might address fundamental deficiencies that they observe when faced with the opportunity. This article recaps the 2026 Sumner J. Yaffe Lifetime Achievement Award lecture presented at the Pediatric Pharmacy Association annual meeting in Arlington, Virginia on April 9, 2026.