Accenture and Bristol-Myers Squibb have launched a joint center for pharmacovigilance in Chennai, India. The new center will be operated by more than 140 Accenture employees and will undertake the processing and coding of adverse event data and the generation of regulatory reports on safety as well as physician medical review of adverse events.

Pharmacovigilance, safety data monitoring to ensure optimal use of medicines, entails the capture, assessment, and reporting of potential side effects to medicines. The collaboration is for ‘end-to-end’ safety case processing and includes specialized activities, such as medical review of the reported adverse reactions. The team is organized as an extension of the BMS pharmacovigilance headquarters’ operations and allows for the seamless handling of data between Accenture and BMS while not compromising patient safety, according to the two companies.

“Building a joint team with a specialized focus will support the continued growth of our robust product pipeline, improving scalability and increasing overall productivity,” said John Balian, M.D., senior vice president, global pharmacovigilance and epidemiology, BMS. “Working with Accenture, BMS will continue to access world-class talent to deliver on our regulatory obligations, while enhancing our focus on patient safety.”

“Leading companies are re-thinking their operating model to drive sustainable growth and productivity,” said Eric Sandor, managing director of Accenture Pharmacovigilance Services. “Through a truly collaborative partnership with BMS we have established an industry leading operation that is delivering substantial efficiency and improved flexibility for BMS’s pharmacovigilance organization.”

The pharmacovigilance center is part of Accenture’s Life Sciences Centers of Excellence in Bangalore and Chennai that BMS already uses. As part of the multi-year R&D agreement signed in April, the pharmacovigilance center furthers BMS’s efforts to expand its R&D capabilities in India.