New program builds on USP’s decades-long experience in strengthening quality assurance systems in Southeast Asia.
30 September 2020 – The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has selected the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) to lead the Regulatory Laboratory Capacity Strengthening Program to strengthen quality assurance systems for medical products in two countries in Southeast Asia. The two-year program is part of the Australian Government’s existing Indo-Pacific Regulatory Strengthening Program, implemented by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), and leverages USP’s extensive expertise in the region as well as its 200-year history of working to assure the quality of medicines.
Through this award, USP will support the National Health Quality Control Laboratory in Cambodia and the National Center for Food and Drug Analysis (NCFDA) in Laos to build capacity toward attainment of World Health Organization Prequalification and ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation, respectively.
Effective national quality control laboratories are the cornerstones of national and regional quality assurance systems for medical products and help keep patients safe by identifying poor-quality medical products for removal from national supply chains and keeping them from reaching patients.
“USP is proud to partner with the Australian Government on this important area of work,” says Emily Kaine, USP’s Senior Vice President of Global Health and Manufacturing Services. “Poor-quality medicines cause immeasurable harm to patients every day, and this program is a significant step forward in assuring the quality of medicines and promoting health in Cambodia and Laos.”
USP will build on each country’s existing infrastructure and systems while applying proven and sustainable approaches to strengthen quality assurance and quality control management systems and working in alignment with national health strategies and plans.
About USP
USP is an independent, nonprofit, scientific organization whose mission is to improve global health through public standards and related programs that help ensure the quality, safety and benefit of medicines and foods. Through our standards, advocacy, and capability-building, USP helps increase the availability of quality medicines, supplements and food for billions of people worldwide. USP has offices in the United States, Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe, including three state-of-the-art laboratories, full-scale training facilities in Ghana and India, an online training system, and partnerships with national quality control laboratories around the world. For more information about USP at www.usp.org.