Pharmacovigilance symbol now authorised for EU medicines
Will come into use from September
The European Commission has authorised a special inverted triangle symbol to appear on product information of medicines sold in the European Union that are undergoing special monitoring for potential unexpected side-effects. Such pharmaceuticals will be sold with advice encouraging patients to report adverse reactions through national reporting systems.
The symbol will come into use from September and cover: all medicines authorised after 1 January 2011 that contain a new active substance; biological medicinal products, such as vaccines or plasma-derived products, authorised after that date; medicines approved by regulators on condition that additional information on their use is collected; and products subject to special conditions or restrictions on their safe and effective use.
‘The symbol is easy to recognise for patients and healthcare professionals,’ said EU Health Commissioner Tonio Borg. ‘It will help to obtain more and better information from them on possible side-effects of a medicine which then can be thoroughly analysed.’