Dr Karl Broich
Dr Broich is President of BfArM.
Journal10 years of pharmacovigilance legislation: the perspective of a national agency
In 2012, the new pharmacovigilance legislation came into force, which established a uniform standard for the safety monitoring of medicines in Europe. These new legal requirements resulted in impactful changes, including the creation of a further scientific committee at the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA), the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC). It also resulted in a new framework for signal management, the establishment of a periodic safety update report (PSUR) single assessment and additional requirements for risk management plans (RMPs). This article reflects upon the past 10 years’ experience, including the recent pandemic. Suggestions are made on areas where the legal framework may need to be further adapted to a changing regulatory environment.