Research Capabilities
The DSRU makes significant contributions to the ongoing assessment of newly marketed medicines through pharmacoepidemiological research.
The technique of Prescription-Event Monitoring (PEM) provides a systematic active post-marketing surveillance programme to monitor safety of selected new prescription medicines in large cohorts of patients. PEM is readily adaptable where focus on particular safety issues is required.
In addition to PEM, the DSRU is also capable of conducting safety studies using other standard observational methodologies which may supplement and/or further refine signal generation in PEM studies, as well as monitor the safety of non-prescription or herbal medicines. Furthermore, its research capabilities extend to the integration of pharmacogenetics into safety studies and also the use of other observational databases for investigating drug safety issues. Looking to the future, the DSRU is considering options for monitoring the safety of new innovative medicines (biotechnology), as well as the adoption of large simple trials. Additional information on individual research capabilities is provided below.