TY - JOUR PY - 2009// TI - Pharmacovigilance and Post-Black Market Surveillance JO - Social Studies of Science A1 - Langlitz, Nicolas SP - 395 EP - 420 VL - 39 IS - 3 N2 - Pharmacovigilance can be defined as a set of practices aiming at the detection, understanding and assessment of risks related to the use of drugs in a population, and the prevention of consequential adverse effects. In a narrower sense, the term refers exclusively to postmarket surveillance. This paper briefly outlines how pharmacovigilance has come to play a central role in the regulation of novel pharmaceuticals. However, the focus of the text is on mechanisms emerging in an experimental drug scene that aim at dealing with the risks posed by 'designer drugs' newly introduced to the black market. This discussion of pharmacovigilance and 'post-black market surveillance' is situated in the broader context of the more recent dissemination of vigilance as a key element of government in a world too complex for legal and disciplinary measures alone.
LA - SN - 0306-3127 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0306312708101977 ID - ref1 ER -