Human and veterinary pharmacovigilance (PV) share many goals, challenges and approaches. But there are also significant differences, such as the numerous species and breeds that veterinary PV needs to take into account. In this two-part episode of Drug Safety Matters, James Mount, Veterinary Pharmacovigilance assessor at the Swedish Medical Product…

While structured data elements such as patient identifier, medicine name and reaction, are fundamental for adverse event reporting, they may not capture all relevant details. This is where the narrative fields come in, allowing reporters to disclose important contextual information, such as the patient’s full clinical course. But how do PV assessor…

Medication-related-harm (MRH) is especially prevalent in older adults due to changing physiology as the body ages, increased frailty, and the incidence of polypharmacy in this patient group. Giovanni Furlan, Worldwide Safety Site Lead for Thessaloniki of Pfizer discusses what makes this patient group so vulnerable to adverse drug reactions, how poo…

Disproportionality analyses are a mainstay of pharmacovigilance research, but without clear guidelines, they often lead to confusion and misinterpretation. Enter the READUS-PV statement: the first-ever guide for reporting disproportionality analyses that are replicable, reliable, and reproducible. Tune in to find out: The history of reporting guide…

Listen to an audio podcast of the September 12th, 2024 FDA Drug Safety Communication on rare occurrence of serious liver injury with use of Veozah (fezolinetant) for hot flashes due to menopause.

Duplicate reports are a big problem when it comes to signal detection, but with the help of machine learning and new ways of comparing reports, we may more effectively detect them. This episode is part of the Uppsala Reports Long Reads series – the most topical stories from UMC’s pharmacovigilance news site, brought to you in audio format. Find the…

Ensuring trust in AI is vital to fully reap the benefits of the technology in pharmacovigilance. Yet, how do we do so while grappling with its ever-growing complexity? This episode is part of the Uppsala Reports Long Reads series – the most topical stories from UMC’s pharmacovigilance news site, brought to you in audio format. Find the original art…

Look-alike medicines, unclear communication and distractions during administration – medication errors may occur for many different reasons. They all have in common that they are unintended mistakes in the drug treatment process that may or may not lead to patient harm. In this episode Ghita Benabdallah and Loubna Alj from the national pharmacovigi…

Medicines can affect our personality in positive ways, but they may also lead to destructive behaviours that can damage our relationships, finances, and overall quality of life. Michele Fusaroli from the University of Bologna explains how to diagnose and treat drug-induced impulse control disorders. Tune in to find out: Which medicines may cause im…

Serious and unexpected adverse drug reactions – the ‘black swans’ of pharmacovigilance – can place enormous strain on safety monitoring systems. Drawing examples from the COVID-19 pandemic, François Montastruc from Toulouse University Hospital explains how we can get better at dealing with the unpredictable. Tune in to find out: What Nassim Nichola…

Listen to FDA Drug Safety Podcast titled, FDA adds Boxed Warning for increased risk of severe hypocalcemia in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease taking osteoporosis medicine Prolia (denosumab).

The liver is the primary site for drug metabolism in the body, but it can be severely damaged by medicines or their toxic compounds. Rita Baião from the North Lisbon University Hospital Center reviews what pharmacovigilance professionals should know about drug-induced liver injury (DILI). Tune in to find out: Who is most at risk of developing DILI …

Listen to FDA Drug Safety Podcast, FDA's preliminary evaluation has not found evidence that use of GLP-1 RAs causes suicidal thoughts/actions.

What did the drug safety community achieve in 2023 and how will the field develop in 2024? As the year comes to a close, we asked Angela Caro, president of the International Society of Pharmacovigilance (ISoP), to walk us through current and future trends in pharmacovigilance. Tune in to find out: Why patient engagement is a growing priority What c…

Listen to an audio podcast of the November 28, 2023, FDA Drug Safety Communication, FDA warns of rare but serious drug reaction to the antiseizure medicines levetiracetam (Keppra, Keppra XR, Elepsia XR, Spritam) and clobazam (Onfi, Sympazan).

To mark #MedSafetyWeek, which took place from 6–12 November, we’re releasing a special two-part episode on pharmacovigilance communication campaigns. In this second part, we hear from three #MedSafetyWeek veterans – Anne-Cécile Vuillemin from the Ministry of Health in Luxembourg, Ban Al-Shimran from the Iraqi Ministry of Health, and Frieda Shigwedh…

To mark #MedSafetyWeek, which takes place from 6–12 November, we’re releasing a special two-part episode on pharmacovigilance communication campaigns. In this first part, we speak to Mitul Jadeja from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in the UK about under-reporting and how initiatives like #MedSafetyWeek can help draw attenti…

Herbal remedies have been used for thousands of years to treat what ails us. Yet why do we still know so little about their potential side effects compared to modern medicines? This episode is part of the Uppsala Reports Long Reads series – the most topical stories from UMC’s pharmacovigilance news site, brought to you in audio format. Find the ori…

A patient's perspective can ensure safe medical care and lead to new insights that traditional research may overlook. But how do we best harness that perspective to improve patient outcomes? This episode is part of the Uppsala Reports Long Reads series – the most topical stories from UMC’s pharmacovigilance news site, brought to you in audio format…

Medicines safety monitoring is a continuous process that begins with pre-marketing clinical trials and continues with post-marketing studies to fill any gaps in knowledge. With Marianne Lunzer from AGES and Sanja Prpić from HALMED, we review the pros and cons of various study types and the importance of testing medicines on diverse populations. Tun…

Listen to an audio podcast of the May 11, 2023, FDA Drug Safety Communication on warnings to improve safe use of prescription stimulants used to treat ADHD and other conditions

Listen to an audio podcast of the April 13, 2023, FDA Drug Safety Communication, FDA updates prescribing information for all opioid pain medicines to provide additional guidance for safe use.

Healthcare professionals are key players in medicines safety but they often lack the time or knowledge to report adverse drug reactions. To change that, we need to urgently rethink how we teach pharmacovigilance, argues Michael Reumerman from Amsterdam University Medical Centers. Tune in to find out: How real-life education can benefit healthcare s…

The vast amount of real-world data collected during routine clinical care is a treasure trove of safety information – but there are challenges to overcome before this rich source of evidence can be applied to pharmacovigilance. Patrick Ryan from Johnson & Johnson discusses how to harness real-world data for patient safety. Tune in to find out: How …

Spontaneous reports of adverse drug reactions are a common source of evidence in pharmacovigilance, but as the science evolves, so do the types of data used to find and assess signals. Uppsala Monitoring Centre’s Daniele Sartori reviews how signal detection practices have changed over time. Tune in to find out: Which features of case reports are mo…

Most pharmacovigilance professionals will have heard of masking – a statistical issue where reports for one drug hide signals for other drugs. But the problem gained fresh attention when record amounts of reports began piling up for the COVID-19 vaccines. How should we be unmasking data in the COVID-19 vaccine era? This episode is part of the Uppsa…

FDA investigating risk of severe hypocalcemia in patients on dialysis receiving osteoporosis medicine Prolia (denosumab)

The COVID-19 pandemic forced pharmacovigilance experts to revisit their processes to deal with unprecedented volumes of data and catch unexpected safety issues. Elena Rocca from Oslo Metropolitan University reviews the challenges of a global healthcare emergency – and what it can teach us about the science of drug safety. Tune in to find out: How t…

The Identification of Medicinal Products (IDMP) standards promise to harmonise how pharmaceutical products and substances are described around the world. But how will that benefit patients and who will make sure the standards are properly implemented? Uppsala Monitoring Centre’s Malin Fladvad and Olle Lagerlund discuss the advantages and challenges…

Public trust in vaccines hinges on their safety – but to make sure vaccines are safe, we must have systems in place to detect and manage any side effects. Dr Madhava Ram Balakrishnan, medical officer for vaccine safety at the World Health Organization, discusses how to build an effective vaccine surveillance system and how to respond to safety cris…

Listen to an audio podcast of the June 30, 2022, FDA Drug Safety Communication. Results from a clinical trial show a possible increased risk of death with Copiktra (active ingredient duvelisib) compared to another medicine to treat leukemia and lymphoma.

Listen to an audio podcast of the 6/1/22 for Ukoniq . FDA withdrew its approval for the cancer medicine Ukoniq (active ingredient umbralisib) due to safety concerns. Ukoniq was approved to treat two specific types of lymphoma: marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) and follicular lymphoma (FL)

Managing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) will require innovative solutions from many different disciplines. Could pharmacovigilance be one of them? Jean Marie Vianney Habarugira and Albert Figueras, who have been investigating how drug safety tools could help track AMR, think it’s time the two communities joined forces for good. Tune in to find out:…

With the right care, people infected with HIV can lead long and healthy lives. But as with any life-long medical treatment, it is important to acknowledge and manage any side effects. Henry Zakumumpa from Makerere University School of Public Health tells us about the potential harms of new HIV therapies and the challenges faced by pharmacovigilance…

Listen to an audio podcast of the March 30, 2022 FDA Drug Safety Communication Iodinated Contrast Media

Access to medical products has increased considerably in Africa in recent years, but safety monitoring systems haven’t exactly kept pace and many African countries still struggle to address safety issues. We sat down with Eleni Aklillu and Abbie Barry of the PROFORMA project to learn about their efforts to strengthen pharmacovigilance capacity in E…

People’s perception of risk can vary greatly from person to person, making it challenging for healthcare professionals to communicate benefits and harms of medicines in a balanced fashion. Alexandra Freeman from the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication discusses how to give patients the information they need to decide what's best for t…

Listen to an audio podcast of the February 3, 2022, FDA Drug Safety Communication, FDA is investigating a possible increased risk of death with the cancer medicine Ukoniq (umbralisib). We are re-evaluating this risk against the benefits of Ukoniq for its approved uses.

The loss of vital health records is a universal problem for refugees. When their medical information goes missing, patients are less likely to receive the care they need and more likely to be prescribed the wrong treatments. Thankfully, the International Society of Pharmacovigilance Egypt Chapter and the Palestine Red Crescent Society are taking on…

Listen to an audio podcast of the January 12, 2022, FDA Drug Safety Communication warning that dental problems have been reported with medicines containing buprenorphine that are dissolved in the mouth.

Statistical tools can not only cut through the noise in large pharmacovigilance databases. They can also help identify more clinically meaningful patterns in the data. Uppsala Monitoring Centre’s Jim Barrett and Joe Mitchell explain how vigiGroup, a novel clustering algorithm, can bring value to signal detection. Tune in to find out: What the limit…

“Listen to FDA Drug Podcast, FDA warns that getting alcohol-based hand sanitizer in the eyes can cause serious injury

With vaccine hesitancy on the rise and misinformation spreading like wildfire on social media, drug safety specialists may have a hard time knowing how to talk about side effects without affecting people’s trust in vaccinations. Anthony Cox from the University of Birmingham and Daniel Salmon from the Institute for Vaccine Safety share their best ad…

It’s not always easy to choose the best medicine for a child. Some drugs are inappropriate for young patients, while others require special consideration or monitoring. For years, clinicians had only historical dogmas, word of mouth and their own experience to guide their choices. But a valuable new resource promises to change paediatric prescribin…

Listen to an audio podcast of the September 1, 2021 FDA Drug Safety Communication on requiring revisions to the Boxed Warning for Xeljanz/Xeljanz XR, Olumiant, and Rinvoq to include information about the risks of serious heart-related events, cancer, blood clots, and death.

Fuelled by disinformation and an array of other cultural and economic factors, vaccine hesitancy is one of the greatest global health communication challenges of our times. But to craft the empathetic and tailored communication strategies required to boost confidence in vaccines, we first need to understand the difference between anti-vaccination b…

Genetic variation is one of the reasons people differ in their response to medicines. Understanding that variation can inform more refined choices of drugs and doses – ultimately preventing undesired side effects. Join us as we discuss past, present and future of pharmacogenomics with Uppsala Monitoring Centre’s Qun-Ying Yue. Tune in to find out: H…

Listen to an audio podcast of the July 20, 2021 FDA Drug Safety Communication, FDA requests removal of strongest warning against using cholesterol-lowering statins during pregnancy; still advises most pregnant patients should stop taking statins

With COVID-19 vaccinations rolling at full speed in many countries, there’s a lot of talk about vaccine safety monitoring. But what exactly does that mean and how should we be interpreting data on side effects? Uppsala Monitoring Centre’s Helena Sköld and Annette Rudolph walk us through the basics of vaccine pharmacovigilance. Tune in to find out: …

Listen to an audio podcast of the June 16, 2021 Drug Safety Communication "FDA warns that vapors from alcohol-based hand sanitizers can cause symptoms such as headache, nausea, and dizziness after applying to the skin"