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The 5th National Pharmacovigilance Week (NPW) from September 17 to 23, 2025, which concluded with a valedictory ceremony in Ghaziabad, highlighted the need to strengthen Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) reporting for effective and timely patient safety.
Experts advocated that with India having a large population base and vast genetic diversity, public awareness about medicine side effects must be strengthened. It is, therefore, vital that physicians and pharmacists not only understand but also report ADRs.
The National Coordination Centre for Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (NCC-PvPI) at Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) organized the 5th NPW, which was inaugurated on September 17, 2025 at Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre, New Delhi, in alignment with World Patient Safety Day, on the theme “Your Safety, Just a Click Away: Report to PvPI.” The week-long programme concluded with a valedictory ceremony held at IPC, Ghaziabad in hybrid mode.
Pharmacovigilance ensures continuous risk-benefit assessment of medicines by effectively reporting ADRs. India today has the largest pharmacovigilance programme in the world, with each medical college now mandated to establish an ADR Monitoring Centre (AMC).
With the theme “Your Safety, Just a Click Away: Report to PvPI”, the 5th NPW aimed at sensitization of healthcare professionals, regulators, researchers, and other stakeholders to report ADRs to PvPI. For this, PvPI has also developed digital platforms.
The PvPI which began at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi in 2010 with just a few AMCs has now expanded into a nationwide network of more than 1,000 AMCs under the IPC today. These AMCs are having a strong support of clinical departments, patients, NGOs, and healthcare professionals.
Pharmacovigilance is an upcoming field with immense potential, especially for young pharma graduates and experts emphasized that the time has come to explore its synergies with Pharmacoeconomics, pharmacogenomics, statistics, and AI/ML.
The valedictory ceremony commenced with a welcome address by Dr. Jai Prakash, senior principal scientific officer & officer-in-charge, PvPI, who emphasized the role of PvPI in ensuring patient safety and encouraged continued commitment from stakeholders.
This was followed by an address by Daara B. Patel, secretary general, Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA) on “Strengthening Industry-Driven Pharmacovigilance: Challenges and Way Ahead,” who emphasized on strengthening pharmacovigilance systems within the pharmaceutical industry and ways to enhance reporting to PvPI.
Dr. Upasana Arora, CEO and managing director, Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital, Ghaziabad, highlighted the importance of collaborative efforts between hospitals, regulators, and industry to strengthen ADR reporting mechanisms.
The ceremony also featured the felicitation of top-performing AMCs under PvPI and Marketing Authorization Holders (MAHs) reporting ADRs to PvPI, recognizing their contributions to strengthening ADR reporting and patient safety. This was followed by an audio-visual presentation on the Glimpses of 5th NPW Celebrations, showcasing the nationwide activities conducted during the week. Subsequently, many participants shared their insights and reflections, further enriching the deliberations of the session.
In his concluding remarks, Dr. V. Kalaiselvan, secretary-cum-scientific director, IPC, reflected on the progress made during 5th NPW and reiterated IPC’s commitment to developing innovative tools, expanding outreach, and capacity-building for pharmacovigilance in India.
The session concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. Shashi Bhushan, senior scientific officer, IPC, who acknowledged the contributions of dignitaries, experts, partner institutions, and stakeholders from across the country.
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