The SFDA (represented by its drug sector) cooperating with the Netherlands Center of Pharmacovigilance (Lareb) have organized a workshop about pharmacovigilance on Sunday and Monday the 9th and 10th of Jumada Alakher, 1428H, in the SFDA headquarter to define the technical requirements of drugs side effects monitoring center, review the Netherlands database and the extent of its benefit to the SFDA drug sector regarding the program of monitoring drugs side effects in the Kingdom and cooperate with the Netherlands Center in order to train pharmacists who work in pharmacovigilance center.
At the beginning, the Netherlands delegation reviewed their program and the used data base. Drug sector employees, employees of information technology department and members of pharmacovigilance team from outside the SFDA have attended the meeting. During the first day, the possibility of applying such program and to what extent it suites the pharmacovigilance center of the SFDA have been discussed. While in the second day, a lecture about the concept of pharmacoviligance has been delivered.
His Excellency d. Mohammed bin Ahmed Alkanhal, the acting executive president of the SFDA, stated that this workshop gained its importance since the SFDA bares the responsibilities of following up drugs after marketing, evaluating the quality of pharmaceutical products continuously, revealing, assessing and preventing drugs side effects, receiving notifications about drugs side effects, following up news of international authorities and organizations and making suitable decisions regarding the safety of common pharmaceutical products. In addition, the SFDA is interested in organizing such workshop to keep up with the directions of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, the Chairman of the SFDA board of directors which reflect the government concern of citizens' safety.
D. saleh Bawazeer, the vice president of drug affairs, confirmed that the SFDA is interested in considering the visions of concerned people and specialists of government and private sectors in regard of the possibility of adopting and authorizing
(Lareb) database.
At the end of his speech, he mentioned that during this visit several meetings between the officials of the pioneer Netherlands Center of pharmacovigilance and the officials of drug sector and information technology department had been held to discuss pharmacovigilance issue.