Introduction to Pharmacovigilance
Pharmacovigilance has been growing its roots day by day in the Pharmaceutical industry, making sure that medicines are both safe and effective. For people in the field of life science, it represents a career path that turns out rewarding. This blog will explain the important parts of Pharmacovigilance, from its career opportunities to its scope in industry.
What is Pharmacovigilance?
Pharmacovigilance is looking over the effects of medical drugs once they are approved for the use. The goal of PV is to find out and evaluate its reactions that wouldn't have been reported in the past. Pharmacovigilance is the science and activities related to detecting, assessing, understanding, and preventing adverse effects related to medications. The focus of PV is to increase the safety of the use of medications. It plays an important role in communication with different stakeholders, including doctors, patients, pharmacists, nurses, medical agencies, national authorities as well as pharmaceutical companies.
What is an Adverse Event?
The major motive of any medicine or vaccine produce a positive impact on human health. However, at times the drug doesn’t go well with the person’s body and creates a harmful impact. This situation is referred to as adverse impact. The severity of such incidences varies greatly and in the worst case, it may even lead to the death of the person. In order to prevent such incidents, the pharmacovigilance team accurately monitors the data and reports adverse events.
Why is Pharmacovigilance Important?
The primary importance of pharmacovigilance is that it helps in assuring the quality and safety of any medicine. In accordance with national and international rules, PV professionals help in ensuring that the drugs made available for public use are safe. Apart from it, they play an essential role in the decision-making process. The data collected helps policymakers in making informed decisions about drug approvals, withdrawals, or restrictions from the market. These duties help in building the trust of the public as well as healthcare providers like doctors. The efficacy and safety of the drug help in building the credibility of the manufacturing company.
Pharmacovigilance Operates in Four Key Areas
Pharmacovigilance works in various departments throughout the trial process. However, their work can be segregated in four major areas. These four main areas of pharmacovigilance are:
- Operations
It collects and records data in Clinical Trials and Reports adverse events those are supported by Clinical Data Managers and Analysts.
- Surveillance
This process assesses and manages drug risks by analyzing data, to judge its safety and effectiveness.
- Systems
This builds and maintains systems of good security for storing the data and makes sure it complies with regulations.
- Qualified Person for Pharmacovigilance (QPPV)
This offers regulatory advice for drugs in the market, they address public concerns with expertise in safety and regulations.
What is the Scope for Pharmacovigilance in India?
In India, the Pharmaceutical Industry is growing rapidly and which is leading to an increase in demand for skilled candidates. This industry is growing in not only India but other in also international companies as well. In 2022, the Pharmacovigilance market has a value of $145 billion, which is estimated to go high at $355 billion till 2030. The CAGR here is 15.5%, which is a compound growth rate, from 2023 to 2030. The reasons might be the complexities in drug development, the increase in regulatory checkups, and also high focus on patient safety. As a result, people with a certification in Pharmacovigilance are likely to get more advantages as better job opportunities and good salaries which makes it a beneficial career path for the industry.
Why Choose Pharmacovigilance?
Impact:
It contributes to public health and ensures drug safety.
Growth:
This field gives continuous learning and advancement in a career.
Global Opportunities:
This field provides global opportunities by offering international teams and regulatory bodies for work
Rewarding Salaries:
This field offers good salaries on many levels.
What will be the Role of Pharmacovigilance in the Future?
Pharmacovigilance will be one of the most important fields in the future of drug development and safety monitoring. As this industry is growing at 10% per year, India is on its way to become a leading global producer. The demand for PV is increasing day by day making the number of Clinical Trials rise. Their work is necessary for building trust in the industry and for ensuring the safety for the same. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will add to the data analysis and improve the identification of drug reactions. In addition, as demand for personalized medicine is increasing, PV needs to adapt by developing patient specific data. The role of Pharmacovigilance will grow at a rapid pace, with regulatory requirements that are constantly growing and a focus on safety monitoring.
Scope of Industries Hiring Pharmacovigilance Professionals
As the demand for professionals in Pharmacovigilance is increasing, different industries are searching for and hiring skilled candidates. The main role is to look over drug safety and analyze the data on adverse effects. Here are the industries hiring in this field:
Pharmaceutical Companies:
Firms with drug development need Pharmacovigilance experts to see to the safety monitoring and watching if it adheres to regulation.
Biotechnology Companies:
These companies have focus on innovative treatments and they require specialists in the field to to manage data and safety
Pharmacovigilance Centers:
These are institutions dedicated to monitoring the drug safety. They rely on specialists to analyze safety of data and findings of reports.
Clinical Research Organizations (CROs):
The conduction of Clinical Trials for Pharmaceutical Companies is overseen by CROs. They ensure safety regulations and proper handling of the data.
IT Companies in Healthcare:
IT organizations develop technological solutions to manage PV data and hence they require skilled specialists for the implementation and maintenance of these systems.
Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPOs):
Different companies like Accenture and Quintiles offer special PV services, that create a lot of job opportunities in this field.
Regulatory Agencies (e.g., DCGI, CDSCO):
These industries oversee that drugs comply with regulations. They employ PV Professionals to help with regulatory submissions and audits.
Companies Hiring Pharmacovigilance Professionals in India:
Pharmaceutical Companies- Dr. Reddy’s Lab
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Novartis
- Pfizer
- Ranbaxy
- Roche India
Clinical Research Organizations
- Asian Clinical Trials Serene
- Clintec International
- Sciformix
Data Management and Consulting
- Accutest
- Actimus
- Adroit Insights
- Laboratories and Manufacturing
- Alembic
- Matrix Laboratories Ltd.
Life Sciences
- Bioserve, Clinigene
- Reliance Life Sciences
Conclusion:
A career in Pharmacovigilance is so much more than just a job. A career in Pharmacovigilance means committing to the safety of people. This field offers different opportunities, growth in career, and a good salary. As the focus on drug safety is increasing day by day, the demand for professionals in PV is growing in return. If you are from the Life Sciences field and are looking for a stable career with opportunities to grow and a good salary, this is a good path for you.