Quintiles has appointed Stella Blackburn, M.B. B.S., vice president and global head of Risk Management for its Real-World & Late Phase Research group. Blackburn will be responsible for leading the group’s risk management efforts in the U.S., E.U., Australia and Canada. Blackburn also will develop multidisciplinary risk management services, review and assist with interpretation of pharmacovigilance legislation and ensure compliance with regulations and best practices in the conduct of pharmacovigilance and risk management activities for the company’s real-world and late phase research efforts.

With more than two decades of experience in the pharmacovigilance and pharmacoepidemiology fields, Blackburn joins Quintiles from the EMA, where she worked for more than 16 years in various roles, most recently as the EMA risk management development and scientific lead. Blackburn was responsible for designing and implementing risk management public policy and processes used throughout Europe. Blackburn also worked with biopharmaceutical companies, government bodies and industry consortia to advance risk management and real-world research, including registry projects and public-private partnerships.