The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission, in collaboration with the Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone, organized a two-day National Meet on Strengthening Pharmacovigilance and Materiovigilance on 27–28 February 2026. This first-ever national annual meeting brought together Regional Centres under the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI) and Materiovigilance Programme of India (MvPI) to enhance coordination among regulators, healthcare institutions, ADR Monitoring Centres (AMCs), and Medical Device Monitoring Centres (MDMCs). Senior officials from regulatory authorities, leading medical institutions, and the WHO Country Office for India participated in the deliberations.
The inaugural session was presided over by Dr. V Kalaiselvan, who emphasized the need to move from awareness-driven reporting to a performance-oriented pharmacovigilance framework with measurable outcomes. Leadership from prominent AIIMS institutions, including Prof. Y K Gupta and Prof. Ashok Puranik, along with Dr. Jitendra Sharma and Dr. Kavita Kachroo, highlighted the importance of institutional collaboration to strengthen drug and medical device safety systems across India.
A major highlight of the meet was the launch of the ADR PvPI 2.0 Mobile Application, designed to enable real-time reporting of adverse drug reactions, improve stakeholder engagement, and facilitate seamless data capture nationwide.
Technical sessions reviewed progress under PvPI and MvPI and addressed challenges such as underreporting of adverse drug reactions, documentation gaps, and the need to enhance medical device safety oversight. Discussions focused on improving the performance of AMCs and MDMCs and promoting a culture of systematic reporting across healthcare institutions.
The second day was devoted to working group deliberations under the theme “Empowering India’s Pharmacovigilance and Materiovigilance: From Awareness to Action.” Groups explored strategies to tackle underreporting, standardize documentation frameworks for preventable adverse events, and expand pharmacovigilance and materiovigilance beyond district-level facilities. Recommendations emphasized capacity building, inter-institutional coordination, and integration of technology-enabled monitoring to strengthen patient safety.
The meet concluded with a reaffirmation of IPC’s commitment to advancing India’s pharmacovigilance and materiovigilance ecosystem through coordinated, evidence-based interventions and technology-driven solutions.
Nurturing Creativity – Keekli Charitable Trust, Shimla
