The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention and the Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the purpose of working together to strengthen the quality of medicines and foods in the United States and China.
Roger L. Williams, M.D., USP executive vice president and CEO, and Wu Zhen, secretary-general of ChP and deputy commissioner of China's State Food and Drug Administration, signed the MOU at USP's headquarters in the United States.
"USP is pleased to partner with the Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission on this Memorandum of Understanding," said Dr. Williams. "This agreement represents our combined commitment to improving patient care and advancing the public health in the United States and China through rigorous quality standards for medicines." The agreement is a renewal of a prior agreement that had been in place for several years.
To strengthen documentary and physical standards, the MOU says USP and ChP will develop processes to update existing monograph standards and acquire new monographs. To advance the availability of good quality pharmaceutical ingredients in China and the United States for export, USP and ChP will explore ways to develop approaches to allow review, testing and audits of manufacturers of ingredients imported into China and those manufacturing for export from China to the United States.
USP sets federally recognized standards for the quality, purity and strength of prescription and over-the-counter medications sold in the United States, as well as widely recognized standards for dietary supplements and food ingredients. ChP holds legal responsibility in China for creating and revising national medicine standards, including traditional Chinese medicines. Some TCM products may be considered both drugs in the United States and dietary supplements.
