Pharmacovigilance Programme of India

Pharmacovigilance Programme of India

School of Medical and Allied Sciences G D Goenka University coordinated a webinar entitled “Pharmacovigilance Programme of India” on 19th June 2021. The speaker for the webinar was, Dr. Jai Prakash, Senior Principal Scientific officer and officer in-charge, National Co-ordination Centre, Pharmacovigilance Programme of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. This webinar was organized with the reason to create awareness about the different projects and activities undertaken, monitored and managed under the umbrella of ‘Pharmacovigilance Programme of India’, one of the largest and most significant contributor to the periodic safety updates to the WHO, globally, given the fact that India is a highly populous nation with more than 350 primary healthcare centres actively participating and monitoring adverse events at the remotest location through registered medical practitioners and healthcare professionals, including AEFI (Adverse events following immunization) with administration of SARS CoVID-19 vaccines or monitoring and updating of adverse events by primary and secondary healthcare centres in the country following administration of prescribed medications to patients with or without CoVID-19 treatment or hospitalizations.

Dr. Jai also deliberated upon the Pharmacovigilance guidance document for marketing authorization holders of pharmaceutical products (i.e. companies involved in drug product manufacture and distribution in India) for preparation and submission of periodic safety update reports, and the different training's conducted by his department for industry experts and healthcare professionals throughout the country at regular intervals to ensure awareness and compliance in this regard. He also informed, that his department publishes safety reports in different journals at regular intervals, updating and informing the general public and healthcare professionals about the new potential adverse events identified and thereby recommends a revision in labeling of those drug products. He also cited different examples in this regard. He also informed that the department is well equipped with data handling and analysis softwares, and the veracity and validity of conclusions are wetted by scientific experts in those domains. The session ended with inquisitive questions from the participants of the webinar, which was answered to satisfaction.