05.01.08
The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) and the Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission (ChP) recently signed an agreement to collaborate on strengthening the quality of medicines and foods in the U.S. and China. The agreement represents a renewal of a prior agreement that had been in place for several years. The Memorandum of Understanding between the two parties identified several potential areas to address, including: strengthening documentary and physical standards, which assure the quality of medicines, foods and other healthcare products; third-party certification (verification) and advancing the availability of quality pharmaceutical ingredients used to produce medicines in China and the U.S. for export; translation, to assure the availability and use of USP compendia among Chinese-speaking people; and working relationships that facilitate knowledge exchange.