Latin America/Caribbean

USP is strengthening its relationships with pharmacopoeias and regulators in the Latin American/Caribbean region to support its manufacturing community, which is advancing rapidly to bring quality medicines to patients and practitioners in the region. To this end, in 2008, USP opened a state-of-the-art laboratory and office facility in São Paulo, Brazil. Learn more about USP–Brazil and the services it provides.

Collaborations

Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs)

• In 2009, USP signed an MOU with the Mexican Pharmacopeial Commission (FEUM) and established a leadership group to advance its work products.
• Also in 2009, USP established an MOU with the São Paulo State Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (Sindusfarma), an organization that represents approximately 90 percent of Brazil’s pharmaceutical industry.

Other Government & Organizational Activities

• USP plays a key role in the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) External Quality Control Program, aimed at assisting official medicine control laboratories in the region to improve laboratory performance and harmonize methodologies of drug analyses. In addition, as a non-governmental organization to PAHO, USP supports the Pan American Network for Drug Regulatory Harmonization.
• Through its USAID–sponsored Promoting the Quality of Medicines (PQM) program, USP works with various Latin American/Caribbean countries to assist in strengthening their QA/QC systems. PQM participates in the Amazon Malaria Initiative and the South American Infectious Disease Initiative. In addition, the PQM Medicines Quality Database (MQDB), which launched in early 2011, houses data related to substandard and counterfeit medicines circulating in the Latin American/Caribbean region. Learn more about region–specific PQM activities and the MQDB.

Translations

In 2005, USP released its official version of the USP–NF Spanish Edition, a full official translation of the English edition. This resumed USP’s Spanish translations, which had been prepared from 1905 to 1960. A Spanish Expert Panel to USP plays a large role in this work, which proves popular in the region. Learn more about the USP–NF Spanish Edition.

Visiting Delegations

• Representatives from the School of Pharmacy at University of Valparaiso in Chile visited USP Headquarters to discuss plans to establish the Chilean Pharmacopeia; USP later participated in the launch of the Chilean Pharmacopeia Project.
• USP has been visiting medicines regulatory bodies in Colombia, Venezuela, and Peru to discuss compendial-related activities and explore potential opportunities for collaboration.

Events

Over the past five years, USP has hosted multiple scientific meetings in the Latin American/ Caribbean region involving companies, government agencies, and universities.

• USP continues to collaborate with FEUM to host a biennial Science and Standards Symposium. The 3rd FEUM–USP Science & Standards Symposium was held May 25–26, 2011 in Mexico City.
• In December 2010, USP hosted a Leadership Forum following the Second International Symposium of the Brazilian Pharmacopeia.
• The USP–Brazil Stakeholder Forum was established with leaders of the Brazilian community to help guide the development of the USP site in São Paulo.
• USP participated in the Central American Product Safety Forum in El Salvador, which was sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services.
• USP sponsored the first regional symposium for the Andean countries in Lima, Peru, to discuss dissolution and bioavailability/bioequivalence of drug products.
• USP User Forums have been held in Ecuador, Colombia, and Argentina. Learn more about User Forums.
• Pharmacopeial Education courses have been delivered in Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico. View current online and classroom offerings.

Convention & Volunteer Representation

These Latin American & Caribbean countries have members and/or observers to the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention, and/or citizens who serve as USP Expert Volunteers. [KEY: M–Members, O–Observers, EV–Expert Volunteers]