Pharmacovigilance: Signal detection and risk management

Course content

The course covers principles of signal detection, signal management and risk management. This starts from the initial detection of potential signals in different data sources and continues through the signal management process to signal validation and assessment of the benefit-risk balance. It further deals with risk management, risk minimisation activities and risk communication. Included are regulations, roles and responsibilities of the marketing authorization holder, regulatory authorities, ethics committees, healthcare professionals and patients. Topics are:

  • Data sources and methods for signal detection
    • Non-clinical data and data from clinical trials
    • Spontaneous reporting systems
    • Healthcare databases, drug/disease registries and electronic healthcare records
    • Published literature and social media
    • Disproportionality methods
    • Epidemiological methods
    • Data mining and text mining
    • Artificial intelligence and machine learning
  • Signal management
    • Regulatory processes, roles and responsibilities
    • Signal prioritisation, validation and assessment
  • Risk management
    • Regulatory processes, roles and responsibilities
    • Benefit-risk assessment
    • Potential and identified important risks
    • Risk minimisation measures
    • Risk communication
    • Assessing the effectiveness of risk minimisation
Education

Master of Industrial Drug Development (MIND) - elective

The course is preapproved as an elective in the   Master Medicines Regulatory Affairs (MRA) programme. It is also open to single course students who meet the admission criteria.

 

See homepage for course dates

 

Learning outcome

After completing the course the student is expected to be able to:


Knowledge

  • explain and describe data sources and methods for signal detection
  • describe relevant legislation and guidelines on signal management and risk management 
  • explain key concepts related to signal management and risk management
  • explain and describe the information flow and regulatory processes involved
  • explain and describe the roles and responsibilities of regulatory agencies and marketing authorisation holders
  • explain how the effectiveness of risk minimisation measures can be asessed

 

Skills

  • analyse the results of signal detection procedures
  • discuss the limitations of data sources and methods
  • analyse and discuss safety information in the context of benefit-risk assessment
  • discuss the actions and decisions related to safety concerns
  • discuss risk management and risk minimisation activities relevant in different safety contexts


Competencies

  • independently integrate and evaluate safety information from different sources
  • critically assess information and reflect on the appropriate actions to take
  • independently develop a strategy for risk management
  • independently plan risk minimisation activities and risk communication for different safety scenarios

Online part: e-lessons that will introduce you to the concepts of signal detection, signal management and risk management. The e-lessons are equivalent to one full course day but can be taken over a period of one week.
On campus part:
Lectures, theory exercises including group work with real and simulated safety scenarios.
Self-study of course literature.

Selected chapers from textbooks, including Mann’s Pharmacovigilance, current edition. Relevant legislation including EU directives and regulation, good pharmacovigilance practice guidelines, scientific papers and review papers.

A list of recommendations for reading and selected material will be accessible before the course together with web exercises. During the course further material for exercises, group work and case studies will be distributed.

Applicants must meet the following criteria:
• A bachelor's degree, a professional bachelor’s degree, a diploma degree, a master’s degree or equivalent within chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacy, medicine, biomedicine, human biology, molecular biology, veterinary sciences, health sciences, nursing, engineering or equivalent.
• At least two years of relevant work experience related to development of medicines
• Proficiency in English

Oral
Continuous feedback during the course of the semester
Peer feedback (Students give each other feedback)
ECTS
5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Type of assessment details
The assignment has two parts:
1. A case study that is presented with a short description and/or a scientific publication. The student is expected to identify key information, analyse the case study, critically assess data, methods and results, by answering a series of questions.
2. Short questions covering different topics of the course.
Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Exam period

Announced in the exam schedule on the MIND homepage  mind.ku.dk.

Re-exam

The exam form for the reexam is the same as the ordinary exam. See dates in the exam schedule on the MIND homepage  mind.ku.dk.

Criteria for exam assessment

To achieve grade 12 the student must be able to:

Knowledge

  • explain and describe data sources and methods for signal detection
  • describe relevant legislation and guidelines on signal management and risk management 
  • explain key concepts related to signal management and risk management
  • explain and describe the information flow and regulatory processes involved
  • explain and describe the roles and responsibilities of regulatory agencies and marketing authorisation holders
  • explain how the effectiveness of risk minimisation measures can be asessed

 

Skills

  • analyse the results of signal detection procedures
  • discuss the limitations of data sources and methods
  • analyse and discuss safety information in the context of benefit-risk assessment
  • discuss the actions and decisions related to safety concerns
  • discuss risk management and risk minimisation activities relevant in different safety contexts


Competencies

  • independently integrate and evaluate safety information from different sources
  • critically assess information and reflect on the appropriate actions to take
  • independently develop a strategy for risk management
  • independently plan risk minimisation activities and risk communication for different safety scenarios

Part time Master and Diploma courses

  • Category
  • Hours
  • Lectures
  • 20
  • Preparation
  • 88
  • Theory exercises
  • 15
  • Exam
  • 15
  • English
  • 138

Kursusinformation

Language
English
Course number
SMIM22001U
ECTS
5 ECTS
Programme level
Part Time Master
Placement
Autumn
A 6 day course taken over a period of 2 weeks
Price

Fees are published on the programme's homepage at  https://mind.ku.dk/tuition/ Fee includes course materials and lunch/coffee. Prices may be subject to change.

Schedulegroup
This is a blended learning course.
Online Part - 1 week duration but the workload is equivalent to one course day
On Campus Part - one week with workload equivalent to 5 course days
-----
Combining one week of online learning, which is equivalent to one full course day and one week of on-campus/​classroom-based learning.

See course calendar
Capacity
25 participants
Studyboard
Study Board for the Professionel Master´s Degree Programmes at The Faculty og Health and Medical Science
Contracting department
  • Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology
Contracting faculty
  • Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Course Coordinator
  • Morten Andersen   (15-7476797b6c753568756b6c797a6c75477a7c756b35727c356b72)
Teacher

Morten Andersen
Maurizio Sessa
(professionals from safety/​epidemiology/​pharmacovigilance departments in the pharmaceutical industry, regulatory agencies, CROs to be selected)

Saved on the 24-04-2024

Are you BA- or KA-student?

Are you bachelor- or kandidat-student, then find the course in the course catalog for students:

Courseinformation of students