Meeting on Drug and Medical Device Safety Monitoring Concludes in Visakhapatnam

A first-of-its-kind annual meeting of regional centres under the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI) and the Materiovigilance Programme of India (MvPI) was held in Visakhapatnam on Friday to strengthen systems for monitoring the safety of medicines and medical devices in the country.

Organised by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission in collaboration with the Kalam Institute of Health Technology and the Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone, the event brought together regulators, hospital representatives and officials from Adverse Drug Reaction monitoring centres and medical device monitoring units from across India.

With the use of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment growing rapidly, discussions at the meeting focused on improving coordination among stakeholders to ensure patient safety and elevate regulatory standards. Experts deliberated on advancing pharmacovigilance systems to shift from awareness-driven reporting to outcome-based practices that yield measurable improvements.

Officials from major healthcare institutions and the World Health Organization Country Office for India attended the sessions and shared insights on international best practices in safety monitoring. Participants acknowledged the importance of robust pharmacovigilance and materiovigilance mechanisms in safeguarding public health amid expanding access to therapies and devices.

The meet is expected to lay the groundwork for closer collaboration among regional centres and national agencies in reporting, analysing and responding to adverse events associated with drugs and medical devices.