As well as holding positions in health institutions in the UK, he was active in international efforts to co-ordinate drug safety monitoring.
He attended Ampleforth College where he played rugby, performed in musicals, and broke their junior cross-country record.
[2] He went on to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, intending to study medicine, but just before he was due to begin clinical training contracted polio.
[6] After 1975 he drew up proposals for what he termed 'Recorded Release' monitoring method to supplement the voluntary Yellow Card Scheme, which eventually evolved into the post-marketing system used by the Drug Safety Research Unit (DSRU).
[7] Despite financial pressures, Inman upheld a principle that studies at his Unit should not be directly sponsored by a pharmaceutical company, lest it restrict his ability to investigate issues which he felt were important.
[2] Inman published a series of bulletins entitled 'PEM News' to report on the progress of prescription event monitoring.
[10] The conference examined the problems of relying solely on spontaneous reporting systems, and the need for adverse reaction data which included information on the number of patients using a particular drug, which connected with Inman's plans for prescription event monitoring.
[1] Lord Butterfield described Inman as "well known world-wide for his foresight and his persistence, which has resulted in his bringing the clinical skills of close observation and detective-like following up of clues to the problems of drug development".
"[14] To the end Inman expressed disappointment that no system, such as a database of pregnant women's drug histories, had been put in place to prevent another thalidomide tragedy.