The Liberia Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Authority (LMHRA) has successfully concluded a groundbreaking two-day international stakeholders’ conference focused on Pharmacovigilance and Clinical Trials, marking a pivotal moment in the country’s commitment to patient safety and regulatory advancement.
The conference which kick off on Monday September 1, 2025 and ended Tuesday September 2, 2025 at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in Congo town, held under the Theme: “Safety Monitoring and Clinical Trial Oversight in Emerging Regulatory System”, brought together leading Marketing Authorization Holders, Hospitals, health policy makers, health professional organizations and Research Organizations in Liberia.
Deputy Minister for Planning & Policy, Ministry of Health, Malayah Tamba Cheiyo who proxy for Health Minister, Dr. Louise Kpoto as keynote speaker, described pharmacovigilance as a cornerstone of patient safety and clinical research integrity.
The address underscored the importance of robust systems, combination of real-world evidence, and the use of digital tools such as artificial intelligence and mobile health technologies to strengthen drug safety monitoring in Liberia.
According to him, the conference served as a platform for recommitting to continental initiatives such as the African Medicines Agency (AMA) and the World Health Organization’s (WHO) regulatory benchmarking framework.
In his opening remarks, LMHRA Managing Director Luke Bawo welcomed participants and announced the LMHRA’s upcoming “track and trace” program for medical products. He also revealed plans to upgrade LMHRA’s quality control laboratory and strengthen collaboration with lawmakers and the Ministry of Health.
Dr. Bawo commended participants and partners, including representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa CDC, and the regional drug regulatory bodies for making the program a success.
Dr. Ejekam Stella CHIOMA , a representative from the WHO’s Regional Office for Africa (AVAREF)emphasized the organization’s role in harmonizing regulatory processes and supporting joint clinical trial reviews. The West African Health Organization (WAHO) echoed the call for regional harmonization and transparent information-sharing to build public trust in medical products.
Regulatory bodies from Nigeria (NAFDAC) and Ghana (FDA) shared best practices in pharmacovigilance, including the introduction of bioequivalence standards for generic drugs and the use of digital platforms for clinical trial applications. Delegates from Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and The Gambia discussed both resource constraints and opportunities for deeper collaboration in regulatory science.
Speakers collectively noted that Africa, despite its population of over 1.4 billion, hosts less than 3% of global clinical trials. This disparity, they argued, underscores the urgent need for investment in infrastructure, human capacity, and regional cooperation.
Dr. James P. Komeh of the Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone commended Liberia’s leadership in organizing the forum, while Rwanda FDA’s Robert Rutayisire urged stakeholders to prioritize partnerships that promote accountability and patient-centered approaches in clinical trials.
Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Organizing Committee, Dr. Juwe Kercula described the conference as a landmark for the country.
According to him, bringing together regulators from across the globe to discuss critical issues on medicine safety and monitoring is a major milestone for the Liberia. Noting, that the LMHRA look forward to working closed with the African CDC, AVAREF, and other partners in strengthening oversight in pharmacovigilance and clinical trials.
Dr. Kercula at the same time disclosed that the next phase of activities will include pharmacovigilance practice and inspection at one of Liberia’s marketing authorization holders, highlighting the importance of lesson learned from the regional counterparts to improve regulatory oversight.
‘This is the first Pharmacovigilance and Clinical Trials conference in Liberia, this is a great work that we have started by ensuring medicines safety in the country,” he continued “we will review the guideline of clinical trials, whoever brings medicines into this country must be responsible for safety, “he added.
He also reflected on LMHRA’s first Joint Good Vigilance Practice (GVP) Inspection, describing it as a “deep learning curve” supported by regional Maturity Level-3 colleagues and partners. “Review of PSMF and other documents, we had the opportunity to tap on the experiences from our ML3 colleagues (NAFDAC, Ghana FDA, MCAZ and Rwanda FDA) back by our Partners both online and in-Person. The message is out, the LMHRA has become safety monitoring of medicines in Liberia. I truly appreciate our colleagues from Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone, Medicines Control Agency of The Gambia,” he concluded.
The conference was officially sponsored by the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI), Germany’s federal agency for vaccines and biomedicines. PEI’s involvement provided a robust platform for sharing expertise in clinical trial and pharmacovigilance oversight. PEI also sponsored the LMHRA’s first Joint Good Vigilance Practice (GVP) Inspection in the country which lasted for three days (September 3-5, 2025)
Since 2017, PEI has continued to provide supports to the LMHRA to strengthen their local capacity. The PEI conducted train-the-trainer programs for Liberian regulatory authority employees, focusing on evaluating clinical trial applications and monitoring drug safety. These efforts are part of a broader initiative to improve medicine safety and clinical trial oversight in African countries.
The two days conference concluded with delegates mapping out concrete strategies to enhance pharmacovigilance systems and clinical trial oversight. The collective goal is to build a stronger, harmonized regulatory network across West Africa that ensures the safety, efficacy, and accessibility of medical products for all.
