Sophie Lafrance has worked in federal regulations since 2005 when she joined Health Canada’s Health Products and Food Branch Inspectorate (now known as the Health Product Compliance Directorate, RORB). She is the national coordinator of the Good Pharmacovigilance Practices (GVP) inspection program since 2008. Her role is to support the delivery of Canada’s national GVP inspection program by providing support to inspectors for their inspections, assisting in resolving emerging issues arising from these inspections, liaising with the Marketed Health Products Directorate (MHPD), and contributing to the development of program regulations, policies, and guidelines.

Rita Cassola is an Executive Director of Pharmacovigilance at Certus PV Services Inc. Rita is a registered pharmacist with over 20 years of experience in global and Canadian pharmacovigilance. Rita’s experience includes over 10 years of senior PV consultancy and 10 years in increasingly senior PV roles within the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, Rita spent 4 years in academia and 10 years in hospital pharmacy. Rita is engaged in teaching pharmacovigilance courses and has presented at several conferences/webinars organized by professional associations.