Official Medicines Control Laboratory (OMCL) Networks

OMCL

The first OMCL Network—the External Quality Control Programs (EQCP) network—was created in 2001 through the collaboration of USP, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and OMCLs from Latin America and Caribbean countries. The success of EQCP led to the creation of the Network of African Medicines Control Laboratories (NAMCOL) by PQM in 2009, and the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) network in 2010. OMCL Networks provide a forum for sharing best practices on medicine quality issues at a regional or national level. The networks offer unique inter-laboratory testing activities for OMCLs to improve their laboratory performance as well as harmonize their methodologies of drug analyses with others.

Objectives of OMCL Networks

  • Strengthen the performance and technical skills of OMCL staff
  • Promote communication and the exchange of information among countries
  • Harmonize methodologies to facilitate acceptance/recognition among countries in the region
  • Ensure compliance with Good Laboratory Practices (GLP)
  • Help eliminate substandard and counterfeit drugs

Regional Networks

  • EQCP Network
    Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad, Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela

  • NAMCOL
    Ghana, Mali, Kenya, Senegal, Ethiopia, and Mozambique

  • MENA Network
    Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia

OMCL Progress Reports

EQCP

The EQCP network has made it possible for participating labs to formulate recommendations to optimize testing capacity and reporting, identify areas that demand technical cooperation, evaluate the quality of medicines used in priority programs, and develop the concept of reference Quality Control (QC) laboratories throughout the region.

NAMCOL

The network has facilitated South-to-South collaboration on QC of antimalarials common to the participating countries. Network labs participated in an inter-laboratory testing scheme and in hands-on training on GLP and the proper use of compendial analytical methods— tools that can be used to detect substandard and counterfeit medicines. The NAMCOL Virtual Forum, an Internet-based portal, was created to help the labs share information in real time.

MENA

The MENA network successfully completed an initial inter-laboratory testing activity, received country-specific analysis reports with observations and recommendations from USP, and participated in hands-on and discussion training in Morocco. Participants were so encouraged by the outcomes that they created a new email tool to continue their communications.

Resources

Contact: Dr. Patrick Lukulay, V.P., Global Health Impact Programs
+1-301-816-8166
phl@usp.org