The United States Pharmacopeial Convention-India (USP-India)  has reiterated its resolve to continue its partnership with Indian regulators and industry to help improve quality of medicines.

While commemorating 10th anniversary celebrations of USP-India laboratories in Hyderabad, a panel discussion by leading players from various sectors of pharmaceutical industry reckoned India’s role as a leading exporter of high quality affordable drugs and medicines to developed and developing countries to fight life-threatening diseases such as HIV, malaria and TB etc.

The panelists also stressed that India needs to continue its legacy of quality standards for medicines by dynamically adopting new advances and improve public health. “Pharmaceutical exports from India reach over 200 countries. As the ‘pharmacy of the world’, India must ensure that its products meet not only public health needs in the markets it serves, both domestically and abroad, but also that the pharmaceutical ingredients and products the country exports are of high quality. USP-India plays a pivotal role in helping to ensure the quality of medicines through continues partnership,” said K.V. Surendranath, senior vice president, USP Global Sites and senior vice president, USP-India.

USP-India plays an important role in ensuring that medicines manufactured in India are available in markets worldwide through the ‘Promoting the Quality of Medicines’ (PQM) programme where USP provides assistance to pharmaceutical manufacturers as they seek World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification status for essential medicines such as anti-malarial and antibiotics. Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by USP, PQM assists with dossier preparation, discussion facilitation and guidance on compliance with WHO’s good manufacturing practices.

“USP recognizes the important role that India plays in today’s global pharmaceutical environment. Quality healthcare depends on the availability of quality medicines to combat the world’s most pressing public health concerns. USP looks forward to continuing to be an important partner to India in support of good quality medicines. Today, we celebrate USP-India’s impact on public health through partnerships with government and industry. We look forward to continuing our work together to increase our impact as we advance our shared goal of better public health through quality medicines,” said Ron Piervincenzi, chief executive officer of USP.

During the last decade, USP-India has partnered with Indian regulators and industry to help ensure the quality of both generic and innovative medicines and to promote globally accepted quality standards. An example is USP-India’s work with the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to support local industry and promote the availability of good quality medicines nationally by providing research and development support on materials characterization to help interested local manufacturers.