The Ministry of Health in cooperation with Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the largest worldwide pharmaceutical companies, organized a workshop about finding a solid platform for the Arab and European regulations of pharmacovigilance understandings.

The workshop which ensures the ministry’s abidance to improve the healthcare sector in the UAE, was attended by a number of representatives from the pharmcovigilance representatives in the UAE and MENA region in addition to healthcare specialists in the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Tunisia and Egypt.

The workshop reviewed the latest updates of the pharmaceutical safety and pharmacovigilance, Arab understandings of pharmacovigilance and the participation of the MENA region in establishing a common database of pharmacovigilance and drug safety.

Dr. Amin Al Amiri, Assistant Undersecretary for Public Health Policy and Licensing at the Ministry of Health called for the importance of increasing the awareness of patients about the safety of using drugs and improving the healthcare sector in the UAE and the Arab region.

He said: “The healthcare sector and safety of individuals in the UAE cannot be done without collective efforts. Due to the increasing and enormous growth of the European drug market, there is a need now to consolidate cooperation between all the drug regulatory authorities in order to ensure the availability of health safety standards for all the nation and people”.
Dr. Al Amiri stated that the workshop aims for increasing the awareness of pharmacovigilance malpractices theoretically and practically and reviews the successful stories and models in the UAE. It is noted that the term “pharmcovigilance” refers to all activities that are related to discover, evaluate and assess the side effects of drugs.

“The workshop mainly services those companies and individuals working and who are interested in the pharmacovigilance field. The control of drug safety encourages patients to report when they suffer from any side effects or complaints against the drugs they are having. Doctors, nurses, pharmacists and all healthcare specialists are also encouraged to cooperation with the regulatory authorities in the country”, Dr. Al Amiri ended.

Furthermore, Karim Al Alaoui, Managing Director of Middle East, Turkey and Africa in Boehringer Ingelheim, said: “We are very pleased to cooperate with the UAE Ministry of Health and organize such an important workshop. We look forward to extend our cooperation not only in the pharmacovigilance field but medical education and improve the healthcare services too. our company abides by all medical and ethical standards and we put the health and safety of our patients at the forefront of our priorities. Such collaboration will definitely improve the healthcare field in the region.

It is noted that the workshop provides a brief summary about the excellence in pharmacovigilance; the participants also got acquainted to the current regulations for marketing authorization holders, Arab and European guidelines for pharmacovigilance, data sharing followed by panel discussions.