Rockville, MD (Mar. 6)—The US Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission (ChP) designed to strengthen the quality of medicine and foods in the United States and China. The agreement is a renewal of a prior arrangement that was in place for several years. The two organizations have worked collaboratively since USP staff first visited ChP in 1990, co-sponsoring two scientific meetings and signing an initial MOU in 2005.

• Creating processes to update existing monograph standards and develop new monographs


• Obtaining third-party certification (verification) of pharmaceutical ingredients via the review, testing and audits of manufacturers of ingredients imported into China and those manufacturing for export from China to the United States


• Expediting the translation of USP compendia into Chinese, including a process for the USP to review the English translation of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia


• Strengthening working relationships by hosting a joint symposium biannually alternating between the United States and China, holding meetings between senior management of both groups at least once per year, and exchanging scientific staff.

The MOU was signed by Roger L. Williams, USP executive vice-president and chief executive officer, and Wu Zhen, secretary-general of ChP and deputy commissioner of China’s State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), at USP’s headquarters in Rockville, Maryland. A Chinese delegation of representatives from the ChP and the SFDA joined Wu in visiting USP.
 
“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,” said Williams in a press release.