USP to Develop Standards with Mexican Commission

The US Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) and the Permanent Commission of the Pharmacopeia of the United Mexican States (FEUM) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last week. Under the MOU, the two organizations will jointly develop standards in an effort to ensure the identity, quality, purity, strength, and consistency of medicines. The goal of the agreement is to safeguard the public health and enhance drug quality in the US and in Mexico.

Roger L. Williams, USP’s CEO, and Pedro D. Castañeda Lopez, executive member of FEUM, signed the MOU in Mexico City. The areas of collaboration detailed in the agreement include revising, updating, and integrating monographs for medicines contained in both pharmacopeias; exchanging scientific and technical information through meetings, courses, and conferences; and establishing joint reference materials. The current MOU expands on activities included in an MOU that USP and FEUM signed in October 1999. Within the next month, the organizations will form a joint work group to develop priorities.

“International cooperation is critical to assuring the quality of medicines, particularly in the global manufacturing environment in which they are now produced,” said Williams in a USP press release.

“FEUM is very pleased to engage in this important partnership with USP,” said Castañeda Lopez in the press release. “This agreement is another milestone in our relationship, which affects patients in Mexico, the United States, and worldwide. We look forward to our future work on scientific and technical matters that contribute to quality medicines for all.”

USP’s work with international pharmacopoeias and other regulators has resulted in several MOUs this year. In June 2009, USP agreed to collaborate with the Vietnamese Pharmacopoeia Commission and with nine countries that belong to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. In April 2009, USP signed an MOU with Roszdravnadzor, the surveillance agency for medicines and medical supplies within Russia’s Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development.