भारतीय भेषज संहिता आयोग
INDIA JOINS 10th ANNIVERSARY CAMPAIGN FOR SAFER USE OF MEDICINES
Everyone has a role to play in medicines safety. By reporting suspected side effects, you and I can help make medicines safer for everyone. That was the core message of this year’s #MedSafetyWeek campaign, which marked its tenth anniversary.
The National Coordination Centre–Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (NCC-PvPI), Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC), was among 130 partner organisations worldwide that took part in this campaign, held from 3–9 November 2025. Together, they encouraged patients, families, and healthcare professionals to report any suspected side effects – because each report can help protect others.
Medicines save lives and improve the health of millions of people globally. However, they can sometimes cause unintended side effects. By reporting suspected side effects when they occur, regulators can take action to make medicines safer. Regulatory agencies around the world, as well as NCC-PvPI, use reports from patients and healthcare professionals to monitor the safety of medicines and respond to potential risks. Unfortunately, research indicates that only about 5–10% of all suspected side effects are reported.
“This means that we only see the tip of the iceberg, and that it may take longer to identify important safety issues. By raising awareness through #MedSafetyWeek, we want more people to know that their report matters,” said Dr. V. Kalaiselvan, Secretary-cum-Scientific Director, IPC.
Common reasons for not reporting suspected side effects from medicines include not knowing it’s possible, not thinking it matters, or simply forgetting. That’s why the #MedSafetyWeek campaign was founded in 2016 to raise awareness of why, how, and where to report side effects. The 2025 tenth anniversary edition was the largest so far, with 130 organisations in 117 countries sharing the #MedSafetyWeek message in more than 60 languages.
“By reporting suspected side effects, you and I have the power to make medicines safer for everyone. Speaking up could help protect someone else. It’s not only doctors, pharmacists, or regulators; everyone has a role to play. That is a core message of this campaign: that medicines safety starts with you and me,” said Dr. Jai Prakash, Sr. Principal Scientific Officer & Officer-in-Charge, NCC-PvPI, IPC.
Throughout 3–9 November 2025, individuals across the country helped promote the #MedSafetyWeek message by using the campaign hashtag and sharing social media posts from NCC-PvPI. In India, the campaign also involved stakeholders of PvPI, including Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) Monitoring Centres and Market Authorization Holders, who contributed to spreading awareness on the importance of reporting side effects for safer medicines.
Notes:
1. #MedSafetyWeek is an international campaign led by Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC), the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for International Drug Monitoring. The campaign is supported by WHO, members of the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities (ICMRA), and a range of national and international organisations with a close interest in medicines safety.
2. Please feel free to view and use the resource materials available here.
3. If there is any suspicion that an adverse event (AE) or adverse drug reaction (ADR) has occurred, the healthcare professional attending to the patient may fill out the Suspected Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Form (Version 1.4). Similarly, consumers and patients may use the Medicines Side-effect Reporting Form to report any suspected AE or ADR to the National Coordination Centre–Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (NCC–PvPI). This form is available in 10 Indian languages—Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Assamese, Oriya, Tamil, and Telugu—and can be sent directly to the NCC-PvPI or to the nearest Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Centre (AMC) under the NCC-PvPI. Consumers and patients may also report suspected AEs or ADRs to their nearest AMC under the NCC-PvPI. Details of AMCs are available on the official website of the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC).
Hospitals, medical colleges, and other healthcare Institutions that are not enrolled as AMCs under PvPI may report AEs via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Consumers and patients can also use the same email address to report AEs.
Additionally, suspected ADRs or AEs can be reported through IPC’s IVRS-based toll-free helpline number 1800-180-3024 or ADR PvPI 2.0 App (available on Google Play Store) or ADRMS Website.
4. Patients are advised to contact a healthcare professional if they are worried about their health.
Useful references on underreporting of side effects:
- Costa C, Abeijon P, Rodrigues DA, Figueiras A, Herdeiro MT, Torre C. Factors associated with underreporting of adverse drug reactions by patients: a systematic review. Int J Clin Pharm. 2023 Dec;45(6):1349–58. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10682061/
- García-Abeijon P, Costa C, Taracido M, Herdeiro MT, Torre C, Figueiras A. Factors associated with underreporting of adverse drug reactions by health care professionals: a systematic review update. Drug Saf. 2023 Jul;46(7):625–36. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10279571/
