Grant: Team Grant: DSEN - SEARCH-PREVENT

The debilitating and lethal consequences of severe adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are a striking failure of modern medicine. The consequences for patients who experience severe ADRs are catastrophic. In Canada, there are an estimated 200,000 severe ADRs, claiming 10,000-22,000 lives, and costing $14-18 billion each year. To tackle this complex problem requires a multi-faceted collaborative linking of scientists, clinicians and regulators sharing complementary expertise in an environment that promotes teamwork. The Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network (DSEN) Active Surveillance and Evaluation of Adverse Reactions in Canadian Healthcare (SEARCH) initiative was first funded in 2011, with the overarching goal of conducting active surveillance to identify important drug risks, reduce the occurrence of severe ADRs and improve drug safety in Canadians. In close collaboration with the Drug Safety and Effectiveness (DSEN) Pharmacogenomics of Adverse Reaction EVEnts National Team (PREVENT) the work of SEARCH is strengthened through the discovery of pharmacogenomics biomarkers - that is understanding the genetic variation between patients that affects their individual drug response. This inter-individual variation acts as key predictors of ADRs for many drugs in clinical use today. Our team will build on its broad experience in active surveillance methods, pharmacogenomics expertise and its established network of ADR surveillance clinicians in Canadian health centres. These surveillance clinicians are located at 13 pediatric academic health centers and 13 adult academic health centers and their role is to identify and report ADRs, and collect DNA and the detailed clinical information that is needed to evaluate potential drug risks. This will allow SEARCH & PREVENT to continue active surveillance in areas of importance to the CIHR Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network, Health Canada and other pertinent stakeholders.