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

#27 When drugs damage the liver – Rita Baião

Feb 1st, 2024 28m 30s

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

Dec 20th, 2023 28m 6s

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 fu

#25 A week in the name of medicines safety – part 2

Nov 13th, 2023 33m 13s

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 t

#24 A week in the name of medicines safety – part 1

Nov 2nd, 2023 27m 9s

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 Regul

Uppsala Reports Long Reads – The colour of signals

Sep 29th, 2023 33m 59s

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

Uppsala Reports Long Reads – Empowering patients as partners

Sep 5th, 2023 42m 43s

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

#23 Assessing safety in clinical trials – Marianne Lunzer & Sanja Prpić

Jun 27th, 2023 31m 6s

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 th

#22 Reforming pharmacovigilance education – Michael Reumerman

May 8th, 2023 32m 54s

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 A

#21 Unlocking the power of real-world data – Patrick Ryan

Mar 30th, 2023 33m 42s

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 fro

#20 The evidence for signals – Daniele Sartori

Feb 23rd, 2023 45m 41s

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 sig

Uppsala Reports Long Reads – Unmasking data in the COVID-19 vaccine era

Jan 26th, 2023 21m 19s

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-1

#19 Lessons in pandemic pharmacovigilance – Elena Rocca

Dec 15th, 2022 33m 11s

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 he

#18 The IDMP standards explained – Malin Fladvad & Olle Lagerlund

Sep 29th, 2022 23m 6s

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 imple

#17 Why we need vaccine surveillance systems – Madhava Balakrishnan

Aug 24th, 2022 27m 30s

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 Organ

#16 How drug safety can help fight resistant bugs – Jean Marie Vianney Habarugira & Albert Figueras

Jun 30th, 2022 33m 42s

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 to

#15 Safety of HIV medications – Henry Zakumumpa

Apr 29th, 2022 33m 19s

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 He

#14 Advancing pharmacovigilance in Africa – Eleni Aklillu & Abbie Barry

Mar 24th, 2022 37m 20s

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 Abbi

#13 How to talk about risks – Alexandra Freeman

Feb 24th, 2022 38m 16s

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 E

Uppsala Reports Long Reads – Safety issues faced by refugee communities

Jan 27th, 2022 25m 8s

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 Int

#12 Improving signal detection with vigiGroup – Jim Barrett & Joe Mitchell

Dec 16th, 2021 23m 21s

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 vigiGro

#11 Talking about vaccine safety – Anthony Cox & Daniel Salmon

Nov 3rd, 2021 28m 52s

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 fro

Uppsala Reports Long Reads – The KIDs List

Oct 5th, 2021 31m 8s

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 o

Uppsala Reports Long Reads – Convincing the vaccine hesitant

Aug 30th, 2021 34m 52s

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 requi

#10 Tailoring drug therapy to your genes – Qun-Ying Yue

Jul 29th, 2021 29m 37s

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, pr