The Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC)

By Bart Cobert

There is an organization that has done basic, pioneering work in drug safety and pharmacovigilance and that today continues to play a unique role in this field.  This organization is called the Uppsala Monitoring Centre (a name that really does not describe its role).

The UMC was set up in1978 after the thalidomide disaster.  It is a collaborating centre of the World Health Organization (WHO).  WHO Collaborating Centres are institutions, institutes, academic or university divisions designated by the WHO to support WHO programs but are not actually part of the WHO.

The UMC is actually an independent foundation without regular financial support from any government or the WHO. They do, however, sell products and services to industry and others, to self-finance.