New Delhi /Visakhapatnam : The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in collaboration with the Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone, organised a two-day National Meet on Strengthening Pharmacovigilance and Materiovigilance in India on February 27–28, 2026 in Visakhapatnam.
The event marked the first annual meeting of Regional Centres under the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India and the Materiovigilance Programme of India, aimed at enhancing coordination among regulators, healthcare institutions, ADR Monitoring Centres and Medical Device Monitoring Centres to strengthen drug and medical device safety in the country. Senior officials from regulatory bodies, leading medical institutions and representatives from the World Health Organization Country Office for India participated in the discussions.
The inaugural session was presided over by V. Kalaiselvan, Secretary-cum-Scientific Director of IPC, who emphasised the need to move from awareness-driven reporting to a performance-oriented pharmacovigilance system with measurable outcomes. Senior representatives from AIIMS institutions, including Y. K. Gupta and Ashok Puranik, along with Jitendra Sharma and Kavita Kachroo, highlighted the importance of institutional collaboration in strengthening pharmacovigilance and materiovigilance systems.
During the session, the ADR PvPI 2.0 Mobile Application was launched to facilitate easier reporting, enable real-time data capture and improve monitoring of adverse drug reactions across the country.
Technical sessions reviewed the progress made under PvPI and MvPI and discussed key challenges such as underreporting of adverse drug reactions, documentation gaps and the need to strengthen medical device safety oversight. Discussions also focused on improving the performance of monitoring centres and promoting a culture of systematic reporting within healthcare institutions.
The second day featured working group discussions under the theme “Empowering India’s Pharmacovigilance and Materiovigilance: From Awareness to Action.” Participants explored strategies to address underreporting, standardise documentation practices and expand outreach beyond district-level healthcare facilities.
The meeting concluded with recommendations focusing on capacity building, standardisation of reporting systems, enhanced inter-institutional coordination and the use of technology-driven monitoring to strengthen patient safety. The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission reaffirmed its commitment to advancing India’s pharmacovigilance and materiovigilance framework through coordinated and evidence-based initiatives.