November 17, 2010
New Convention Members—The Board of Trustees approved the Council of the Convention's recommendation to invite all prior Convention members and several Observers to membership. All Members Must Confirm or Appoint Delegates—USP recently sent letters to the executive officers of all Convention member organizations. Each member organization must confirm or designate its Delegate. Making this designation is easy—you may send an e-mail with the Delegate's name and contact information or complete an online Appointment Form, then print and fax the form to 301-816-8511.
Kazakhstan Pharmacopoeia to Include USP Standards—USP recently signed an agreement with Kazakhstan's National Centre for Expertise of Drugs, Medical Products and Equipment to allow Kazakhstan to include written standards from the U.S. Pharmacopeia – National Formulary (USP-NF) in the State Pharmacopoeia of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
USP Helps Launch Middle East and North Africa Laboratory Network to Improve Drug Quality—Government laboratories from Abu Dhabi, Egypt, Jordan Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia are forming the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Regional Laboratory Network to improve capabilities to test the quality of drugs. USP was instrumental in helping to establish the network and will play an active role in its work. The laboratory network is intended to promote communication and exchange of information among participating countries and strengthen technical skills.
USP–USAID Activities in Liberia and Ghana Focus on Drug Quality, Target Substandard Medicines—Recommendations from the USP-USAID Promoting the Quality of Medicines Program (PQM) led to establishment of national medicines legislation in Liberia. The legislation provides the legal basis for creating the country's new regulatory authority, which will oversee the pharmaceutical sector and address the surge of substandard and counterfeit medicines into Liberia's market. PQM's collaboration with the Ghana Food and Drugs Board uncovered substandard and counterfeit versions of 13 key antimalarial medicines. This latest discovery has caused a nationwide recall and sanctions for manufacturers. There is mounting concern that this latest detection of counterfeit and substandard medicines in Ghana signals an extensive and potentially devastating ongoing problem.
December Food Ingredients Stakeholder Forum—This Forum—where interested parties discuss the challenges of setting quality standards for food ingredients—is now open to the public. The Forum will be held at USP Headquarters in Rockville, MD on December 3, 2010.
USP Quality Standards in the News—Follow the link on USP's home page under "Hot Topics" to see how USP Advances Public Health Through Quality Standards. Check the latest in the "Highlights" and "USP Standards In the News" boxes for an update on USP's standards setting activities. To keep current, bookmark the page.
USP Headquarters Building Earns 2010 Peerless Rockville Award—USP's state-of-the-art headquarters building in Rockville, MD, earned the 2010 Preservation Award for New Construction and Design by Peerless Rockville.
Copy to Executive Officers 10–26
Follow Us On: