NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, June 7, 2013

WORRIED by the dearth of experts and available tools to combat falsified, substandard and counterfeit medicines in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa including Nigeria, the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) has launched the Center for Pharmaceutical Advancement and Training (CePAT) in Accra, Ghana.

The new centre is the beginning of a series of global health initiatives to equip national and local regulatory authorities and officers, quality assurance and quality control professionals, manufacturers, and others in the pharmaceutical industry with knowledge and skills to promote access to good quality medicines. The new center is being launched as a Commitment to Action through the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI).

USP’s chief executive officer, Dr. Roger L. Williams, noted: “CePAT is a natural extension of USP’s core mission of establishing public standards for the quality of medicines, foods, and dietary supplements. As USP has become increasingly active throughout the world, the need to support efforts to provide good quality medicines to everyone who requires them has become more important. CePAT is a positive step in that direction, and has been realized in part through our strong working relationships with the Ghanaian and other Sub-Saharan African medicines regulatory authorities.”