Introducing CoLab: The Evolution of US-Canada International Collaboration on Drug Safety and Effectiveness

Pharmacoepidemiology studies are increasingly completed in distributed research networks that leverage common data models. Recently, Canada’s Drug and Health Technology Agency (CADTH) launched the Post-Market Drug Evaluation (PMDE) Program to use real-world evidence to support key health system decisions on drug safety and effectiveness, forming a new research network called CoLab. CoLab functions similarly to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Sentinel Initiative. 

The symposium discusses the advantages and challenges of routine international collaborations in pharmacoepidemiology. It was presented at the 39th International Conference on Pharmacoepidemiology and Therapeutic Risk Management.