IPC and AMTZ Convene National Meet to Strengthen Pharmacovigilance and Materiovigilance

The app aims to make reporting more accessible for healthcare professionals and enhance data quality, thereby strengthening the national pharmacovigilance database.

In a significant step towards reinforcing India’s drug and medical device safety framework, the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC), under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, in collaboration with the Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ), organised a two-day National Meet on Strengthening Pharmacovigilance and Materiovigilance in India on 27–28 February 2026 at AMTZ, Visakhapatnam.

Marking a first-of-its-kind initiative, the meet hosted the 1st Annual Meeting of Regional Centres participating in the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI) and the Materiovigilance Programme of India (MvPI). The objective was to strengthen India’s drug and medical device safety systems and enhance coordination among regulators, healthcare institutions, Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Centres (AMCs) and Medical Device Monitoring Centres (MDMCs).

Senior officials from regulatory authorities, leading medical institutions and representatives from the WHO Country Office for India participated in the deliberations, underscoring the national and international importance of robust safety surveillance systems.

From Awareness to Measurable Outcomes

The inaugural session was presided over by Dr V. Kalaiselvan, Secretary-cum-Scientific Director, IPC, who emphasised the need to transition from awareness-driven reporting to a performance-oriented pharmacovigilance framework grounded in measurable outcomes.

He highlighted that while awareness regarding adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting has increased significantly over the years, the next phase must focus on quality, timeliness and actionable data to enhance patient safety.

Senior leadership from leading AIIMS institutions, including Prof. Y. K. Gupta and Prof. Ashok Puranik, participated in the session along with Dr Jitendra Sharma, Managing Director and Founder CEO, AMTZ, and Dr Kavita Kachroo, CEO, Kalam Institute of Health Technology. The speakers stressed the importance of institutional collaboration, technological integration and capacity building to strengthen pharmacovigilance and materiovigilance systems nationwide.

Launch of ADR PvPI 2.0 Mobile Application

A key highlight of the inaugural session was the launch of the ADR PvPI 2.0 Mobile Application. The upgraded mobile platform is designed to simplify adverse drug reaction reporting, facilitate real-time data capture and improve stakeholder engagement across healthcare institutions.

The app aims to make reporting more accessible for healthcare professionals and enhance data quality, thereby strengthening the national pharmacovigilance database.

Reviewing Progress and Addressing Gaps

The technical sessions focused on reviewing progress under PvPI and MvPI, while candidly addressing persistent challenges such as underreporting of adverse drug reactions, documentation gaps and the need to reinforce medical device safety oversight.

Participants deliberated on:

• Improving performance benchmarks for AMCs and MDMCs

• Strengthening systematic reporting practices in hospitals and healthcare facilities

• Developing structured documentation and analysis frameworks for preventable adverse events

• Enhancing post-marketing surveillance of medical devices

The discussions reflected a shared recognition that pharmacovigilance and materiovigilance must evolve into proactive, technology-enabled systems rather than reactive reporting mechanisms.

Working Group Deliberations: From Awareness to Action

The second day of the meet was dedicated to structured working group deliberations under the theme “Empowering India’s Pharmacovigilance and Materiovigilance: From Awareness to Action.”

The working groups examined strategies to:

• Address chronic underreporting of adverse events

• Standardise reporting and causality assessment methodologies

• Expand outreach beyond district-level healthcare facilities to peripheral and rural institutions

• Integrate technology-enabled monitoring and analytics for faster signal detection

The deliberations emphasised the importance of capacity building for healthcare professionals, streamlined reporting channels and stronger coordination among regulators, monitoring centres and medical institutions.

Strengthening the Patient Safety Ecosystem

The recommendations emerging from the meet highlighted the need for:

• Standardisation of reporting practices across institutions

• Institutional accountability with measurable performance indicators

• Enhanced inter-institutional coordination

• Greater use of digital platforms and analytics for real-time safety monitoring

The meet concluded with a reaffirmation of IPC’s commitment to strengthening India’s pharmacovigilance and materiovigilance ecosystem through coordinated, evidence-based and technology-driven interventions.

As India’s healthcare system expands in scale and complexity, robust surveillance of drugs and medical devices is essential to safeguarding patient safety. The National Meet represents a decisive move toward building a more responsive, accountable and data-driven safety framework that aligns with global best practices.