Springer Biographies Ralph Edwards: RARE EVENTS The Inside Story of a Worldwide Quest for Safer Medicines IAN HEMBROW Springer Biographies ThebookspublishedintheSpringerBiographiestellofthelifeandworkofscholars, innovators,andpioneersinallfieldsoflearningandthroughouttheages.Prominent scientists and philosophers will feature, but so too will lesser known personalities whose significant contributions deserve greater recognition and whose remarkable lifestorieswillstirandmotivatereaders.Authoredbyhistoriansandotheracademic writers,thevolumesdescribeandanalysethemainachievementsoftheirsubjectsin manner accessible to nonspecialists, interweaving these with salientaspects of the protagonists’personallives.Autobiographies andmemoirsalsofallintothescope oftheseries. Ian Hembrow Ralph Edwards: RARE EVENTS The Inside Story of a Worldwide Quest for Safer Medicines IanHembrow OxfordCentreforLifeWriting UniversityofOxford Oxford,UnitedKingdom ISSN 2365-0613 ISSN 2365-0621 (electronic) SpringerBiographies ISBN 978-3-031-14980-1 ISBN 978-3-031-14981-8 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14981-8 ©TheEditor(s)(ifapplicable)andTheAuthor(s),underexclusivelicensetoSpringerNature SwitzerlandAG2023 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsaresolelyandexclusivelylicensedbythePublisher,whether thewholeorpartofthematerialisconcerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuse ofillustrations,recitation,broadcasting,reproductiononmicrofilmsorinanyotherphysicalway,and transmissionorinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilar ordissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthispublication doesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevant protectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. Thepublisher,theauthors,andtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformationinthisbook arebelievedtobetrueandaccurateatthedateofpublication.Neitherthepublishernortheauthorsor theeditorsgiveawarranty,expressedorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinorforany errorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregardtojurisdictional claimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations. Coverphoto:RalphEdwards ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland Disclaimer:Thecontentsofthisbookdonotrepresentorreflectthe viewsandcurrentorfutureworkoftheUppsalaMonitoringCentre, WorldHealthOrganization oranyothergroup. RalphEdwardsatErice,Sicilyin2019.PhotoUMC RalphEdwards,Gothenburg,January2021.PhotoMarieLindquist AboutProfessorRalphEdwards RalphEdwardsisaworld-leading figureinthescienceof pharmacovigilance(thesafetyofmedicines).Bornandeducatedin England,hequalifiedinmedicinein1966andembarkedona medicalcareerthattookhimfromtheUKtoZimbabwe,New ZealandandthentoSwedenasthefirstfull-time directorofthe UppsalaMonitoring Centre(UMC). Hisvisionforaworldwhereallpatientsandhealthprofessionals makewisetherapeuticdecisionshelpedtobringmedicinessafety fromobscuritytoprominenceinclinicalpracticeandpublichealth. Theglobalcoronavirus pandemicthrustthiscomplexandfascinating disciplineintopublicattentionandcontroversy. IanHembrow,author.PhotoIanHembrow AbouttheAuthor IanHembrowisafreelancewriterandavisitingscholaratthe OxfordCentreforLifeWriting,WolfsonCollege,Universityof Oxford,UK.HewrotethebookMakingMedicinesSafer tomark UMC’sfortieth anniversaryin2018. RelieflogoattheentrancetotheUppsalaMonitoringCentre,Sweden.PhotoIanHembrow Forfourgreatteachers,mentorsandsources ofinspiration: SydneyOwen,RevdHubert Morton,J.P.Morgan-JonesandSirRobert Kilpatrick. Foreword ProfessorLembitRägo.PhotoLembitRägo In the late 1980s and early 1990s, I was the professor of clinical pharmacology at TartuUniversityinEstonia.IwasalsooneofthetwofoundersoftheEstoniandrug regulatoryauthority,whichwascreatedafewmonthsbeforemycountry’sindepen- dencewasrestoredinAugust1991.Amongmanyotheractivities,weestablisheda ‘yellowcard’reportingsystemforadversereactiontodrugs,joinedtheWorldHealth Organization(WHO)ProgrammeforInternationalDrugMonitoringandstartedto sendcasereportstotheUppsalaMonitoringCentre(UMC). xi