29 November 2018

Revised ABPI Guidance for PV in Market Research


As reported in Safety Observer N°150 of November 2018, the ABPI (Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry) has worked with BHBIA (British Healthcare Business Intelligence Association) to produce a revised version of their guidance on collecting Adverse Events, Product Complaints and Special Situations Reports during Market Research Programmes (MRPs). This is Version 4 of this valuable guidance document, which was first issued in October 2009.




In addition to changes related to Personal Data Protection, the main change concerns the collection of contact details when information is collected directly from patients/consumers in order to enable the appropriate follow-up of Adverse Events by the MAH.

For those who are not familiar with this document, it includes a series of useful annexes including example wording for the contract with the Market Research Agencies, templates for Data Collection and Reconciliation Forms, as well as interview scripts covering a range of scenarios.

The information presented on the BHBIA website also includes the Microsoft Word templates for the Data Collection and Reconciliation Forms, as well as suggested wording for Market Research Materials and a series of “Quick Guides”.


       Link to ABPI News Release


       Link to BHBIA Page





Thierry Hamard is a Pharmacist with more than 15 years of Global Pharmacovigilance Auditing experience and over 200 PV Audits performed since his company PV Focus was established in 2004.


Thierry is also Chief Editor of Safety Observer, a provider of Regulatory Intelligence services for Pharmacovigilance since 2005.