Drug Safety Matters brings you the best stories from the world of pharmacovigilance. Through in-depth interviews with our guests, we cover new research and trends, and explore the most pressing issues in medicines safety today. Produced by Uppsala Monitoring Centre, the WHO Collaborating Centre for International Drug Monitoring. The views and opinions expressed in the podcast are those of the hosts and guests respectively and, unless otherwise stated, do not represent the position of any…
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#46 Protecting the health ecosystem – Valentina Giunchi & Joe Mitchell
Send a message to the show! Pharmacovigilance has traditionally focused on the patient at the receiving end of a medicine. But what happens to medicines once they leave the body? In this episode, Valentina Giunchi and Joe Mitchell unpack the emerging field of ecopharmacovigilance and explore how the One Health approach is reshaping the way we think about medicine safety across human, animal, and…
#45 How to perform better disproportionality analyses – Michele Fusaroli & Eugene van Puijenbroek
Send a message to the show! For all its ease and speed, disproportionality analysis can be distorted by many biases, making it easy to misuse and misinterpret. Michele Fusaroli from Uppsala Monitoring Centre and Eugene van Puijenbroek from the Netherlands pharmacovigilance centre Lareb explain why we shouldn’t abuse this powerful but fragile tool. Tune in to find out: Why we should never treat…
#44 Rethinking medical device safety, part 2 – Omar Aimer
Send a message to the show! Medical device pharmacovigilance is complicated. Alongside clinical safety, there are technology risks, from cybersecurity threats to outdated software, that can put patients at risk. In this two-part episode, Omar Aimer, President of ISoP and former co-lead of the Medical Device Safety Special Interest Group, discusses the challenges with medical device safety…
#43 Rethinking medical device safety, part 1 – Omar Aimer
Send a message to the show! Medical device pharmacovigilance is complicated. Alongside clinical safety, there are technology risks, from cybersecurity threats to outdated software, that can leave patients vulnerable. In this two-part episode, Omar Aimer, president of ISoP and former co-lead of the Medical Device Safety Special Interest Group, discusses the challenges with medical device safety…
#42 Unpacking the WHO Global Smart Pharmacovigilance Strategy – Shanthi Pal
Send a message to the show! This special episode was recorded just before the 43rd Annual Meeting of the WHO Programme for International Drug Monitoring wrapped up in Cairo, Egypt. Held from 27 to 29 October 2025, the meeting brought together representatives from more than 80 member states, along with senior experts and regulatory leaders from WHO headquarters and regional offices. Discussions…
#41 How to use artificial intelligence in pharmacovigilance, part 2 – Niklas Norén
Send a message to the show! Far from a future add-on, artificial intelligence is already embedded in the cycle of drug safety, from case processing to signal detection. Versatile generative AI models have raised the bar of possibilities but also increased the stakes. How do we use them without losing trust and where do we set the limits? In this two-part episode, Niklas Norén, head of Research at…
#40 How to use artificial intelligence in pharmacovigilance, part 1 – Niklas Norén
Send a message to the show! Far from a future add-on, artificial intelligence is already embedded in the cycle of drug safety, from case processing to signal detection. Versatile generative AI models have raised the bar of possibilities, but they have also increased the stakes. How do we use them without losing trust and where do we set the limits? In this two-part episode, Niklas Norén, head of…
#39 Putting children first on Patient Safety Day – Angela Caro-Rojas
Send a message to the show! Children deserve the safest possible healthcare, yet they remain one of the most vulnerable patient populations when it comes to medicines safety. Ahead of World Patient Safety Day on 17 September, we discuss challenges and solutions in paediatric pharmacovigilance with ISoP president Angela Caro-Rojas. Tune in to find out: Why we need a Patient Safety Day How to…
#38 Patient perspectives in PV: a fireside chat at the ISoP mid-year symposium
Send a message to the show! This special episode was recorded at the mid-year symposium of the International Society of Pharmacovigilance (ISoP), 14–15 May 2025. Held in Uppsala, Sweden, the theme of the symposium was Improving information capture for safer use of medicines . The episode is an abridged recording of the concluding fireside chat, where Angela Caro-Rojas (president of ISoP), Linda…
#37 Beyond numbers: quality in ADR reporting – Henry Zakumumpa
Send a message to the show! Spontaneous adverse event reporting from healthcare professionals and patients is a cornerstone in pharmacovigilance systems. Unfortunately, it is a well-known issue that only a fraction of events is reported. To further complicate matters, poor quality reports present a significant challenge for pharmacovigilance assessors. In Uganda, several new routes have been…