Six Years of Oviya MedSafe & 72 Editions of Pharmacovigilance
By admin Dear Well-wishers,
At the time of the year when nostalgia gets the better of me, it is but natural that I tend to handpick and sew together some glittering pearls of wisdom which got scattered all along the path I travelled thus far. Yes – it is Oviya MedSafe’s anniversary again, now the sixth since the organization’s founding, with this March 2018 edition of Oviya MedSafe’s newsletter being the proud 72nd in the consecutive monthly series!
Of course, six years mean a lot. Literally, in my mother tongue Tamil that is known for its homonyms among its many other virtues, the word for six is ‘Aaru‘. Interestingly, this Tamil word could also be used to imply a river, a path/way, one’s own home, or refer to the phenomena of healing, consoling, cooling down or strengthening someone/something. I am pleasantly surprised that Oviya MedSafe inherently relates to all these meanings of the word from a pharmacovigilance perspective, with the nouns defining who we are in pharmacovigilance and the verbs asserting the net effect of the pharmacovigilance fulfilment our customers experience by nature of choosing to work with us. Having begun our journey on a humble note on 14-Mar-2012, I believe we have reached where we are now because Oviya MedSafe had always wanted to simplify the frighteningly complex pharmacovigilance, for our trusting clients.
Indian pharmacovigilance has always been an intriguing topic for pharmaceutical professionals and public health researchers worldwide, thanks to the huge population of the country which by itself is expected to play the role of a deterrent. However, India has achieved quite a lot in pharmacovigilance, especially from the time the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI) was initiated. I had the privilege of being interviewed by the renowned Dr Alberto Grignolo, Editor of Global Forum, a Drug Information Association (DIA) publication, on the topic ‘PvPI: Technology Meets Opportunity to Improve Safety‘ in which I shared my perspectives about the programme and the ‘Pharmacovigilance Guidance Document for Marketing Authorization Holders of Pharmaceutical Products‘ which was made effective from January 2018. This audio interview was published as a podcast on DIA’s dedicated online platforms. Please do listen to the podcast by visiting the URL http://diapublications.podbean.com/e/pvpi-technology-meets-opportunity-to-improve-safety/ and feel free to share your views. I take this opportunity to thank Dr Grignolo and the DIA editorial team for having made this interview possible.
On a related note, I was fortunate to be able to facilitate a ‘Question & Answer’ segment on the same topic with Dr V Kalaiselvan, Principal Scientific Officer, Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (the officer-in-charge of coordinating the activities of PvPI) for the April 2018 issue of DIA’s Global Forum, in my honorary role as the ‘India Regional Editor‘ of the magazine. I express my sincere thanks to Dr Kalaiselvan for setting aside his time for this candid interaction. Please visit the URL https://globalforum.diaglobal.org/issue/april-2018/pharmacovigilance-programme-of-india-pvpi-qa-with-the-principal-scientific-officer-indian-pharmacopoeia-commission/ to read the Q&A. I solicit specific feedback on this feature as I trust it will help me plan future engagements.
Before signing off, I wish to inform you that I will be conducting the Indian Pharmacovigilance Day 2018 conference as its Chair, for the third consecutive time, following the highly successful 2016 (Mumbai) and 2017 (Hyderabad) editions. This third edition of this conference will be held in Mumbai on 27th July 2018 (Friday). This event is a part of the ‘Pharmacovigilance Day‘ series of events that are organized in several parts of the world by Italy-based conference-producing company EasyB srl. Do stay tuned for more details.
Waiting to re-connect with you through our April 2018 newsletter,
With thanks & regards,
Dr J Vijay Venkatraman
MBBS, F. Diab., MBA, FPIPA (UK)
Managing Director & CEO,
Oviya MedSafe Pvt Ltd,
Coimbatore, India
Phone: +91-422-2444442
Director,
Oviya MedSafe UK Ltd,
London, UK
Phone: +44-8452-733839
Web: www.oviyamedsafe.com
Mail: info@oviyamedsafe.com
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