Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS)

What Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) does

The Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) is an international, non-governmental, non-profit organization established jointly by WHO and UNESCO in 1949 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. CIOMS represents a substantial portion of the biomedical scientific community through member organizations spanning biomedical disciplines, national academies of sciences, and medical research councils. Its mission is to advance public health through guidance on health research and policy, with three core workstreams: bioethics, pharmacovigilance, and medical product development.

CIOMS operates through expert working groups that produce consensus reports and standardized frameworks adopted by regulators, industry, and researchers worldwide. Its product surface consists of approximately 99+ publications including the International Ethical Guidelines for Health-related Research Involving Humans, the CIOMS Cumulative Pharmacovigilance Glossary, the Glossary of ICH terms and definitions, the Artificial Intelligence in Pharmacovigilance report, the Benefit-risk balance for medicinal products report, the Real-world data/evidence in regulatory decision making report, Severe Cutaneous Adverse Reactions (SCAR) report, MedDRA Labeling Groupings report, Drug-induced liver injury report, and vaccine safety communication/surveillance guides. CIOMS pharmacovigilance guidelines have directly formed the basis for multiple ICH guidelines (E2A, E2B, E2C, E2D, E2F).

CIOMS is funded through annual membership fees from international and national member organizations, sales of printed publication copies, grants, and free online training/certification programs. Most publications are freely distributed as PDF downloads, with printed copies available for purchase through an e-shop. The organization maintains official relations with WHO, associate partnership with UNESCO, and official observer status with ICH since June 2016. It is governed by an Executive Committee of up to twelve representatives and a General Assembly of member organizations, with day-to-day operations run by a lean Geneva secretariat of approximately ten staff under Secretary-General Dr Lembit Rägo and President Prof Stella Blackburn.

Name

Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS)

Legal name

Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS)

Website

https://cioms.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CIOMS is an international, non-governmental, non-profit organization established jointly by WHO and UNESCO in 1949 that produces consensus-based guidance reports and standardized frameworks on bioethics, pharmacovigilance, and medical product development for regulators, pharmaceutical industry, and research institutions worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Policy and Pharmacovigilance Guidance

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAJACAG

Clinical Research Ethics & Human Subjects Protection Authorities (IRB/REC Oversight)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Public Health, Government & Regulators/Health Policy, Regulation & Compliance Authorities

SECONDARYHLAGALAM

KOL Engagement & Medical Education (Advisory Boards/CME Support)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Life Science Tools & Services (CRO/CDMO/Lab Services)/Pharmacovigilance & Medical Affairs Services

Keywords

• Pharmacovigilance guidelines
• Bioethics research guidance
• Drug safety standards
• Research ethics frameworks
• Medicines development policy

Headquarters

HQ city

Geneva

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: CIOMS generates revenue through annual membership fees from its international and national member organizations. Members receive benefits including quarterly newsletters, free hard copies of new publications, and participation in governance through the General Assembly.
2. Publication Sales: Revenue generated from sales of printed copies of consensus reports and guidance documents. While many publications are available as free PDF downloads, printed copies are available for purchase. Some older out-of-print publications have been reissued in PDF format for purchase.
3. Online Training Programs: CIOMS offers free certification training courses related to its ethical guidelines. The organization hosted a Drug-Induced Liver Injury e-learning course in cooperation with Uppsala Monitoring Centre on their eLearning platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CIOMS is an international non-governmental, non-profit organization that convenes expert working groups to develop consensus-based guidance documents, ethical guidelines, and standardized frameworks on bioethics, pharmacovigilance, and medical product development. Its core deliverables include the International Ethical Guidelines for Health-related Research Involving Humans, pharmacovigilance consensus reports, glossaries, and reference tools (such as Standardised MedDRA Queries), which are disseminated as free PDF publications and via paid printed copies. The organization also delivers online training, webinars, and conferences for regulators, industry, and researchers.

Product overview

CIOMS (Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences) is an international non-governmental non-profit organization that produces consensus reports, guidelines, and publications in three core areas: bioethics (including International Ethical Guidelines for Health-related Research Involving Humans), pharmacovigilance (including AI in Pharmacovigilance, Benefit-risk balance, DILI, vaccine safety, and MedDRA-related tools), and product development. CIOMS also provides educational services through online training courses and webinars, facilitates Working Groups that produce consensus documents freely available for download, and offers an annual award for medical students. The organization operates in official relations with WHO and serves as an associate partner of UNESCO, with guidelines that have formed the basis for several ICH guidelines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• International Ethical Guidelines for Health-related Research Involving Humans International ethical guidelines for health-related research involving humans, prepared in collaboration with WHO, addressing pressing issues in research ethics including scientific and social value, vulnerable groups, and biological sample usage.
• Benefit-risk balance for medicinal products Comprehensive guidance on evaluating benefit-risk balance for medicinal products throughout their lifecycle, providing fundamental new recommendations for industry and regulators.
• Real-world data and real-world evidence in regulatory decision making Report describing the potential use of real-world evidence for regulatory and health care decision making, including real-world data sources, scientific considerations, and ethical governance issues.
• Artificial Intelligence in Pharmacovigilance Report establishing and promoting principles and guidance for the use of artificial intelligence or intelligence augmentation in pharmacovigilance.
• CIOMS Cumulative Pharmacovigilance Glossary Organized collection of terms and definitions from published CIOMS Working Group reports with a focus on pharmacovigilance, maintained as a living document updated with new versions.
• CIOMS Glossary of ICH terms and definitions Combined terms and definitions from publicly available ICH guidelines, freely available and accessible from the ICH webpage.
• Introduction to MedDRA Labeling Grouping (MLG) Report providing a harmonized international approach to the creation and use of groups of MedDRA terms in medical product prescribing information.
• Good Governance Practice for Research Institutions International guidelines helping research institutions protect human research participants and their communities, engage them in research processes, and guarantee research quality.
• Patient involvement in the development, regulation and safe use of medicines Consensus report describing the importance of systematically involving patients throughout a medicine's lifecycle from pre-clinical development through regulatory process to ongoing monitoring.
• Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) Report Consensus report providing framework and tools to detect, diagnose and manage drug-induced liver injury during drug development and in post-marketing setting.
• CIOMS Guide to Vaccine Safety Communication Guide providing recommendations for effective communication about vaccine safety.
• CIOMS Guide to Active Vaccine Safety Surveillance Guide providing recommendations for active surveillance of vaccine safety.
• Standardised MedDRA Queries (SMQs) Standardized queries based on MedDRA terminology for retrieving adverse drug reactions, produced by the longest running CIOMS Working Group (2002-2016) as 'Red Books' on SMQs.
• Development Safety Update Report (DSUR) Guidance on harmonizing format and content for periodic safety reports during clinical trials, forming the basis for the ICH E2F guideline.
• Clinical research in resource-limited settings Consensus report providing recommendations to promote scientifically sound, good quality clinical research in low-resource settings.
• Online Training on International Ethical Guidelines Free online training course with certification relating to the CIOMS International Ethical Guidelines for Health-related Research Involving Humans, updated with the 2024 Declaration of Helsinki revision.

Quantifiable outcome

• CIOMS pharmacovigilance guidelines served as basis for ICH-E2A, E2B, E2C, E2D, E2F guidelines
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and minor.

• ICH - International Council for HarmonisationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016CIOMS serves as an official ICH observer since June 2016. CIOMS pharmacovigilance guidelines have directly influenced multiple ICH guidelines including E2A, E2B, E2C, E2D, and E2F.
• WHO - World Health OrganizationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1949CIOMS was established jointly by WHO and UNESCO in 1949. CIOMS is in official relations with WHO and collaborates on international ethical guidelines, pharmacovigilance standards, and health research policy. The two organizations co-develop guidelines such as the International Ethical Guidelines for Health-related Research Involving Humans.
• UNESCOcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1949CIOMS is an associate partner of UNESCO. The organization was established jointly by WHO and UNESCO in 1949 to advance international collaboration in medical sciences.
• IFMSA - International Federation of Medical Students' AssociationssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFMSA member organizations can participate in CIOMS governance through the General Assembly. Medical students who are members of IFMSA national member organizations are eligible for the CIOMS Annual Award for Medical Students.
• IFPMA - International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers AssociationssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFPMA participates in CIOMS activities and working groups, contributing industry expertise to consensus guideline development on pharmacovigilance and drug development topics.
• ISOP - International Society of PharmacovigilancesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerISOP is a member organization of CIOMS and contributes expertise to pharmacovigilance working groups and guideline development. ISOP representatives participate in CIOMS governance.
• IUPHAR - International Union of Basic and Clinical PharmacologysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerIUPHAR is a member organization of CIOMS, contributing pharmacological expertise to working groups on drug development, pharmacovigilance, and related topics.
• MSSO - MedDRA Maintenance and Support Services OrganizationsupportingTechnology or IntegrationCIOMS collaborates with MSSO on MedDRA-related initiatives including Standardized MedDRA Queries (SMQs). The MedDRA Working Group was the longest-running CIOMS expert working group from 2002 to 2016.
• WMA - World Medical AssociationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerWMA is a member organization of CIOMS. WMA contributed to the development of international ethical guidelines, including revisions of the Declaration of Helsinki.
• Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIOMS cooperated with UMC to host an e-learning course on Drug-Induced Liver Injury (DILI) on the UMC eLearning platform from May 2022 to May 2025.
• GENDRO - Gender Research NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIOMS held a joint meeting with GENDRO on gender considerations in health research in Geneva, February 2023, chaired by Shirin Heidari (GENDRO) and Lembit Rägo (CIOMS).

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• World Medical Association (WMA): Member organization of CIOMS and author of the Declaration of Helsinki; WMA produces medical ethics guidance that directly intersects with CIOMS's International Ethical Guidelines for Health-related Research Involving Humans.
• International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE): Professional society represented by CIOMS's current President; ISPE drives pharmacoepidemiology methods and standards that closely intersect with CIOMS's benefit-risk and RWE working-group agenda.
• World Health Organization (WHO): Co-founder and primary partner of CIOMS; WHO operates in similar global health policy space, develops international norms and guidelines, and engages similar stakeholders across regulators, ministries, and academia.
• Drug Information Association (DIA): Global neutral professional association serving drug development, regulatory, and PV communities; DIA convenes working groups and publishes consensus materials that overlap with CIOMS's stakeholder convening and training functions.
• International Society of Pharmacovigilance (ISOP): Member organization of CIOMS and leading global professional society for pharmacovigilance; ISOP convenes similar KOLs and produces guidance materials overlapping with CIOMS working-group output.
• Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC): WHO Collaborating Centre for pharmacovigilance and a CIOMS partner (co-hosted DILI e-learning); UMC operates the global PV signal-detection ecosystem that CIOMS guidelines help govern.
• International Council for Harmonisation (ICH): Operates adjacent to CIOMS in harmonizing technical standards for pharmaceuticals; multiple CIOMS pharmacovigilance reports formed the basis of ICH E2A–E2F guidelines, making ICH the closest peer in regulatory standard-setting function.

Broad incumbents

• International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA): Member of CIOMS representing the research-based biopharmaceutical industry; IFPMA convenes industry stakeholders and contributes to PV and ethics standards overlapping CIOMS's industry engagement.
• UNESCO: Co-founder and associate partner of CIOMS; UNESCO operates at much broader scope across science, education, and culture but shares CIOMS's international norm-setting function in bioethics and research policy.

Regional players

• Council of Europe – Steering Committee on Bioethics (CDBIO): Develops binding and non-binding bioethics instruments (e.g., Oviedo Convention) primarily for European jurisdictions; comparable in function to CIOMS's bioethics work but with a regional rather than global scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/council-of-international-organizations-of-medical-sciences

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS)