USP Partners with USAID to Secure Supply Chain
The US Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) announced on Aug. 31, 2015 that USP is working with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to secure health supply chain systems and ensure the safety of medicines as part of USAID’s Global Health Supply Chain (GHSC) Technical Assistance program. USP will set up and manage quality assurance (QA) systems, train QA staff, help suppliers apply standards and QA tools, help maintain product quality during distribution, and raise global awareness about threats to the supply chain.
According to USP, supply chain systems are weakened by inadequate quality safeguards such as regulatory bottlenecks and poor storage. This weakness allows for the infiltration of counterfeit drugs and substandard products, as well as degradation of legitimate products. Poor quality and counterfeit drugs threaten patient health and can weaken the fight against global health concerns such as malaria and HIV/AIDS, the agency notes.
Source: PharmTech
