Pharmacovigilance and Drug Safety

The role of this site is to provide information on how drugs are developed and the role of pharmacovigilance in ensuring drug safety throughout the lifecycle of pharmaceutical products. We cover several different topics and, should you wish to investigate further, maintain links to some of the top experts and specialists in the field of pharmacovigilance. Our expert panel includes individuals with both industry and regulatory experience. We have access to people who have helped to define and shape the science of drug safety into what it is  today and are working on what pharmacovigilance will become in the future.

Many people believe the pharmaceutical industry to be a shady cartel developing poisonous concoctions with no control from governments or the scientific community. The Pharmacovigilance Information Service is here to share information about drug safety and to explain some of the steps that pharmaceutical companies are required to take in order to get their products to market and to keep them there. It also explains the safety roles that the regulatory bodies expect the pharmaceutical companies to fulfill.

DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICINES AND PHARMACOVIGILANCE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: a guide for the perplexed

This review is intended as a brief introduction to understanding the complex environment in which medicines are developed and their safety monitored. Much of it is applicable generally, but the focus is on the situation in the UK and the European Union.