Socio-historical analysis of the social importance of pharmacovigilance

Pharmacovigilance is a scientific discipline that has changed a lot in recent years and is of great social importance. The case of the so-called sulfonamide elixir showed society the importance of this discipline. Since then, pharmacovigilance has evolved into a scientific discipline with a strong social character. In this paper, a historical review is made of several paradigmatic examples of this discipline to reflect on what pharmacovigilance could be like finally. We conclude that this discipline could be more closely related to other areas of the social sciences, which would help to promote a more democratic social environment taking into account the needs of individuals and social groups.