Ecopharmacovigilance: A review of cause, impact, and remedies

Abstract

Pharmacovigilance EditorialThe PV section in this issue opens the door to a very interesting topic: ecopharmacovigilance. This article is the result of a collaboration among volunteers of EMWA's Pharmacovigilance Special Interest Group (PV SIG) and the Ecopharmacovigilance SIG at the International Society of Pharmacovigilance (ISoP). The authors have realised that there is an urgent need to measure the impact and understand the current picture of the problem of unintended environmental exposure to pharmaceuticals. Awareness must be raised between the different stakeholders through education and training.While the problem of incorrect disposal of pharmaceutical waste is a well-known and relevant issue from a perspective of environmental risk and sustainability, I think that only very few among us have ever regarded it as a potential area for synergy and risk minimisation from a pharmacovigilance perspective. This article will open our mind to new perspectives! I wish everyone happy reading! Tiziana von BruchhausenChair of the PV SIG