Peru lab gains drug quality accreditation
The accreditation certifies that the CNCC is providing valid and trustworthy information to the Peruvian Ministry of Health, helping to ensure the quality of medicines in the country and surrounding region.
ACLASS, an accrediting body based in Washington, DC, US, granted the certification, which was achieved through collaboration with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Pharmacopeial (USP) Convention.
Roger Williams, CEO of USP, said: “The importance of this accreditation should not be understated. Patients and doctors should be able to trust that the medicines they take or administer are of high quality.
“The work we all do in helping to ensure that is the case is vital and life-saving. There is no better way to demonstrate commitment to quality than to submit oneself to the objective scrutiny of public quality standards such as those offered by ISO.”
USP provided technical assistance through its Drug Quality and Information (DQI) programme, which entailed conducting an assessment of the CNCC laboratory’s quality management system; providing ongoing monitoring of CNCC’s progress toward accreditation; and hosting a CNCC intern at its US headquarters.
The USP programme operates in collaboration with the USAID to improve drug quality in developing countries and ensuring availability of medicines to treat life-threatening diseases including HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Peru has been a target of the programme since 2002.
