Needs for an expanded ontology-based classification of adverse drug reactions and related mechanisms

Abstract

The growing significance of bioinformatics and systems biology in drug safety research requires a system of adverse-event classification that goes beyond a simple vocabulary. This opinion piece outlines the need for development of an ontology-based framework of describing adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and describes the potential applications for such a framework. © 2012 American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.