UK & Ireland

The International Society for Pharmacovigilance (ISoP) supports the formation of regional Chapters and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) to focus on contextual issues of interest to its members. The UK and Ireland ISoP Chapter (UKIRL) was finally launched after about a decade of conceptualisation and planning.

The aim of the Chapter is to bridge the gap between pharmacovigilance and patient safety activities within the UK and Ireland through capacity building, training and stakeholder collaborations. A Chapter proposal was finalised and presented to the ISoP Executive Committee (EC) which was approved on 7th March 2022.

The Chapter was then officially launched by the incumbent ISoP president, Dr Mira Harrison-Woolrych, at a pre-sessional meeting for the ISoP-DSRU mid-year symposium on 9th May 2022, hosted by the DSRU at Bursledon Hall, Southampton. It was attended by the founding members of the Chapter, ISoP Executive Committee (EC) and other invited guests (see picture insert).

The rationale, goals and future strategy of the chapter were presented by Dr Walter-Rodney Nagumo, Mr Ryan Walker, Dr Brian Edwards, and Dr Nicole Baker. Joining the meeting virtually, Nicole proposed strategies to expand, increase awareness and reach out to stakeholders in Ireland. The meeting generated vigorous discussion regarding methods to improve media and online visibility, as there remains a lack of awareness about the concept of pharmacovigilance and its importance amongst media professionals.

The Chapter shall therefore strategize and position itself as an important point of contact for unbiased expert opinion on issues of pharmacovigilance and patient safety across the UK and Ireland. UKIRL shall be open to ideas from Chapter members, sister Chapters and SIGs as well as external collaborators.

Currently the Chapter consists of 18 ISoP members with plans to expand. The next steps will involve the organisation of Chapter committee elections, identifying topics for focus and the allocation of responsibilities to members. These plans were discussed in detail at a maiden hybrid meeting of the Chapter at the University of Birmingham Medical School, Birmingham, UK on 4th July 2022.

The Chapter leads wish to thank Dr Brian Edwards, Dr Sarah Daniels and all the forebearers who conceptualised the idea many years ago and for their efforts. We are very proud to announce that we have become the latest Chapter (13th) of ISoP. Our initial membership is a remarkable to start, and we hope to maintain the momentum.