Online Webinar | June 4, 2026 | 13:00 CEST
Pharmacovigilance is not just reports, deadlines, and regulatory requirements. It is people who make decisions every day that affect patient safety around the world. And it is precisely this human dimension of the work — leadership, communication, community, and the future of the profession — that we will explore in our next webinar.
On June 4 at 13:00 CEST, DrugCard is hosting an online session with two experienced industry practitioners: Artem Horilyk and Julia Appelskog. Together, we will step beyond operational PV and address questions that are rarely discussed openly: how careers in pharmacovigilance are built, what real leadership looks like, how PV communities emerge and grow — and what to expect from the field in the years ahead.
What We Will Cover
The webinar will span five key topics.
We will open with career journeys and leadership: what a real career track from entry-level positions to global roles actually looks like, which decisions turn out to be pivotal, and how a professional’s mindset shifts as their responsibilities grow. We will also talk about the role of communication — not as a soft skill, but as a tool for shaping a culture of safety within organizations.
Next, we will discuss building and scaling a professional community. How do PV networks emerge, what principles underpin their growth, and why having a strong community becomes a competitive advantage for any professional in the field.
The third topic is how global initiatives find expression at the local level — in regions, individual organizations, and small teams. Why smaller communities play an irreplaceable role, and how to support knowledge exchange across borders.
The fourth topic is events and conferences as tools for developing the ecosystem. What makes a professional gathering genuinely valuable, and how to create a space for meaningful exchange rather than purely formal presentations.
We will close with a conversation about the future: how the role of the PV professional is changing, where the boundary lies between automation and human expertise, which skills will be critical for the next generation of leaders, and how to build a career beyond purely operational roles.
Speakers
Artem Horilyk — Chief Product Officer, DrugCard
Artem is a pharmacovigilance professional with over 10 years of hands-on PV experience across MAH, CRO, and PV IT environments. He holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences and serves as an Associate Professor at Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, where he has been teaching since 2013.
Artem began his career in pharmacovigilance at Halychpharm — first in pharmaceutical procurement, then moving into PV: ICSR management, signal detection, preparation of PSURs and RMPs, and interaction with regulatory authorities. Later, at Biomapas, he served as a Local Safety Officer, responsible for weekly literature monitoring, report submissions, PV training, and preparation for audits and inspections.
Since 2021, Artem has been Chief Product Officer at DrugCard, where he leads the development of a SaaS platform for automated medical literature monitoring in pharmacovigilance. The platform today serves over 60 projects across EU and Ukrainian markets. In this role, he bridges regulatory, medical, and IT expertise — translating GVP requirements into product functionality and supporting clients through audits and inspections.
Artem is an active voice in the international PV community. He has presented at ISoP Annual Meetings in Montreal and Verona on the automation of local literature monitoring, participated in the World Drug Safety Congress Europe in Amsterdam and the ISoP AI Seminar in Basel. In December 2025 and April 2026, he organized KYIV DRUG SAFETY DAY — practical conferences dedicated to AI in pharmacovigilance and leadership in the field.
Julia Appelskog — Head of QPPV Office, CSL
Julia is one of Europe’s most experienced pharmacovigilance practitioners, whose journey in the field began long before PV became a mandatory topic at every pharmaceutical conference.
She started her career in science: more than eight years at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm — first as a PhD researcher investigating the molecular mechanisms of diabetes and signal transduction in insulin-secreting pancreatic beta-cells, then as a postdoctoral researcher studying epigenetic mechanisms in cancer initiation and histone deacetylase inhibitors as potential antitumor agents. This work was recognized with a grant from the Knut och Alice Wallenberg Foundation. That scientific foundation shaped her approach to safety: evidence-based, methodical, focused on understanding mechanisms rather than simply fulfilling regulatory obligations.
In 2002, Julia moved into industry — and the following two decades became a steady progression through leading pharmaceutical companies. At Sanofi Pasteur MSD, she spent eight years heading PV operations across five Nordic countries. At Johnson & Johnson, she was responsible for pharmacovigilance simultaneously across prescription medicines, OTC products, cosmetics, and medical devices in four countries. At Merck, she led the PV department strategy for the Swedish market.
In 2013, Julia took on her first EU QPPV role at Bluefish Pharmaceuticals, where she headed the entire pharmacovigilance department for nearly four years. This was followed by Merck Group in Darmstadt, where she became Senior Director, Head of PV Quality System and Policy — with global responsibility for PV quality strategy, a transformation project implementing a risk-based operating model, and automation of processes across the entire organization.
She then moved to TFS HealthScience, where she simultaneously served as EU QPPV and Pharmacovigilance Director, coordinating safety strategy across the EU, USA, APAC, and CIS regions. At Novavax, she led the EU QPPV Office and was responsible for establishing and maintaining the company’s entire European PV system during an exceptionally dynamic period for the industry.
Since January 2025, Julia has been Head of QPPV Office at CSL, one of the world’s largest biopharmaceutical companies. In this role, she oversees global pharmacovigilance activities, PSMF governance, PV Intelligence, and inspection readiness across the entire organization.
Why This Matters
The field is changing faster than ever. AI is entering PV processes, regulatory expectations are rising, and the boundary between operational work and strategic leadership is becoming increasingly thin. This webinar is an opportunity to hear from people who have walked this path — not just which tools to use, but how to think, build connections, and remain relevant in a field that is constantly evolving.
Registration is free. Join us on June 4 at 13:00 CEST.
