Latest Updates from EMA and EC regarding Signal Detection Process
Signal Detection in Pharmacovigilance is a set of activities that aim to search for and identify safety signals from a wide variety of data sources. This process wants to determine whether there are new risks associated with a particular drug, or whether risks associated with a particular drug have changed.
Update August 2022:
In 2017 the EMA launched the new EudraVigilance database and enabled MAH access to the system.
During a pilot period which started in February 2018, MAHs of active substances included in the EMA list have to monitor them in EudraVigilance and inform EMA and national competent authorities of validated signals with their medicines.
EMA and the European Commission have agreed, in August 2022 to further extend the pilot until the end of 2023.
What will happen at end of the pilot phase?
The challenging aspect of analysing the EudraVigilance dataset is the large amount of data and the scientific evaluation of the disproportionality analysis results. The interpretation of data mining outputs should consider the known safety profile and pharmacology of a medicinal product, knowledge of the patient populations being treated, biological plausibility, and alternative etiologies for suspected adverse drug reactions.
At Arithmos we are already supporting pharmaceutical companies involved in the pilot phase to put in place an effective and efficient process to ensure that signals are detected and managed in compliance with the regulatory requirements.
Abiogen Preferred Arithmos
Abiogen Pharma is an Italian-based pharmaceutical company developing innovation in the health area, making state-of-the-art solutions for the treatment of numerous diseases accessible, throughout its 100 years of history.
With a production hub in Pisa, Abiogen focuses its production, Research and Development activities in the therapeutic areas of bone metabolism, which has always been an area of excellence for the Company, in the treatment of pain, respiratory, metabolic (diabetes) and dermatological diseases.
Pharmacovigilance Unit of Abiogen is made up of expert scientists who are involved in many demanding tasks. It is paramount for them to have efficient and effective internal PV processes, focusing on core activities such as signal management.
Abiogen wants to get prepared, in the best way, for the upcoming obligation to monitor EudraVigilance database, putting in place a well-defined process running smoothly.
Arithmos’ Approach
The Arithmos Team started the project by preparing a concise procedure on how to classify each Signal of Disproportionate Reporting (SDR) highlighted in the electronic Reaction Monitoring Report (eRMR). The purpose of the procedure is that of helping in determining priorities and focusing on SDRs deserving more in-depth analysis.
A pilot phase has been performed in order to illustrate how to proceed using the proposed approach. Within the pilot phase, a signal detection report has been generated and presented.
The new process is implemented after a fine-tuning in regard to the specific needs of Abiogen.
The proposed solution has provided a robust and lean process to ensure Abiogen compliance with the upcoming regulatory requirement (monitoring of EudraVigilance data for signal detection) that will be effective in the European Economic Area (EEA) for all MAHs starting in 2024.
The process proposed by Arithmos for EudraVigilance was so successful that Abiogen proceeded with implementing a similar procedure for signal detection on their database as well, having excellent customer satisfaction.
We are delighted to use our expertise and tailored approach to help Abiogen Pharma put in place an effective and efficient process to ensure that signals are detected and managed in compliance with the regulatory requirements.
Would you like to put in place an effective and efficient process to ensure signals are detected and managed in compliance with the regulatory requirements?
About Arithmos
Arithmos is a Business and Technology expert in Life Sciences helping pharmaceutical, biotechnology, nutraceutical, medical device, universities, hospitals and non-profit organisations to gain the best business value through technology-enabled solutions and achieve excellence in business operations. We are a long-standing partner and service provider across Clinical Development, Regulatory and Compliance, Quality Management, Pharmacovigilance, and Medical Affairs domains.
Arithmos is a dynamic and fast-growing company in the process of expanding its Consulting Services among Manufacturing and Commercial Excellence in the Pharma industry.
