Pharmacovigilance, also referred to as drug safety, is the science of understanding the adverse effects caused by a drug and assessing whether the benefit will outweigh the risk. This includes detection of adverse effects during the clinical trial and post marketed phases, monitoring and updating the risk-benefit ratio based on relevant findings, prevention or minimization of adverse effects and, most importantly, harmonized communication of these findings to the affected global regulatory authorities in a timely manner. Clinical trials are used throughout the world to determine the safety and efficacy of a chemical or biological compound with respect to its actions on symptoms or a known disease process. Trials are closely monitored by an investigator and the pharmaceutical company involved in the research and development of a medicinal product. But, the process also benefits from autonomous review by Independent Review Boards, Ethics Committees and drug safety firms. This is where pharmacovigilance fits into this process; to provide an extra level of security to ensure that safe and effective products reach patients. As part of the global healthcare and pharmaceutical system, manufacturers, drug developers, and investigators all have the responsibility to provide the best possible care for the patients and consumers around the world. Pharmacovigilance – also known as drug safety - is a broad term that describes the collection, analysis, monitoring and prevention of adverse effects in drugs and therapies. It is a completely scientific and process-driven area within pharma. This information can be published in our peer reviewed journal with impact factors and are calculated using citations not only from research articles but also review articles (which tend to receive more citations), editorials, letters, meeting abstracts, short communications, and case reports. The inclusion of these publications provides the opportunity for editors and publishers to manipulate the ratio used to calculate the impact factor and try to increase their number rapidly.
