The World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Committee on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations advises the Director-General of WHO in the area of medicines quality assurance. It provides independent expert recommendations and guidance to ensure that medicines meet standards of quality safety and efficacy in all WHO Member States. Its advice is developed through a broad consensus-building process and covers all areas of quality assurance of medicines from their development to their distribution to patients. In the area of quality control the Expert Committee reviewed new and revised specifications and general texts for inclusion in The International Pharmacopoeia and received the annual report of the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM) the custodian centre for International Chemical Reference Substances (ICRS). The Committee adopted a number of monographs general texts and ICRS. It noted the report on Phase 5 of the External Quality Assurance Assessment Scheme (EQAAS) and on new approaches to ensure sustainability of this scheme through user fees. The Committee further received a concept paper on the benefits of good pharmacopoeial practices (GPhP) and was informed of progress achieved with developing a comprehensive document on GPhP through discussions at consecutive international meetings of world pharmacopoeias. In the various quality assurance-related areas the Expert Committee was presented with a number of new and revised guidelines related to good manufacturing practices (GMP) distribution and trade of pharmaceuticals and regulatory practice. It adopted eight guidelines and 16 technical supplements as listed below including a new guidance text on good review practice prepared under the leadership of the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation Regulatory Harmonization Steering Committee. The Committee took note of ongoing work to promote collaboration and information exchange through the good regulatory practice project and welcomed the development of a comprehensive set of guidelines for all national regulatory authorities through this project. The report includes the following annexes which are recommended as new WHO guidelines: . Annex 1. Procedure of the development of monographs for inclusion in The International Pharmacopoeia (revision); . Annex 2. Updating mechanism for the section on radiopharmaceuticals in The International Pharmacopoeia (revision); . Annex 3. Supplementary guidelines on good manufacturing practices: validation; Appendix 7: non-sterile process validation (revision); . Annex 4. General guidance for inspectors on hold-time studies (new); . Annex 6. Recommendations for quality requirements when plant-derived artemisinin is used as a starting material in the production of antimalarial active pharmaceutical ingredients (revision); . Annex 7. Guidelines on registration requirements to establish interchangeability (revision); . Annex 8. Guidance on the selection of comparator pharmaceutical products for equivalence assessment of interchangeable multisource (generic) products (revision); . Annex 9: Good review practices guidelines for regulatory authorities (new). In addition 16 technical supplements to the WHO model guidance for the storage and transport of time- and temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products were adopted for publication in a format which is appropriate to the large volume of this guidance (Annex 5). The newly adopted monographs were adopted for inclusion in The International Pharmacopoeia. Following the implementation of the revised general monograph on parenteral preparations the Committee adopted the proposed endotoxin limits for 11 parenteral dosage form monographs lacking such specification together with related updates to relevant monographs. The Committee adopted 12 ICRS newly characterized by the custodian centre EDQM. The Committee further adopted the workplan for new monographs to be included in The International Pharmacopoeia.

This report sets out the recommendations of an international group of experts relating to developments in the quality assurance of medicines and specifications for drug substances and dosage forms. It contains guidelines of direct relevance to the UN Prequalification Programme for Priority Essential Medicines and for quality control laboratories, including procedures governing the assessment of pharmaceutical products for procurement by UN agencies and for assessing the acceptability of quality control laboratories. It also includes discussion regarding several monographs for inclusion in the International Pharmacopoeia, relating to antiretrovirals, including fixed-dose combinations, TB medicines and antimalarial and paediatric medicines.

The Expert Committee on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations works towards clear, independent and practical standards and guidelines for the quality assurance of medicines and provision of global regulatory tools. Standards are developed by the Expert Committee through worldwide consultation and an international consensus-building process. The following new guidance texts were adopted and recommended for use: Guidelines and guidance texts adopted by the Expert Committee on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations; Points to consider when including Health Based Exposure Limits (HBELs) in cleaning validation; Good manufacturing practices: water for pharmaceutical use; Guideline on data integrity; WHO/United Nations Population Fund recommendations for condom storage and shipping temperatures; WHO/United Nations Population Fund guidance on testing of male latex condoms; WHO/United Nations Population Fund guidance on conducting post-market surveillance of condoms; WHO “Biowaiver List”: proposal to waive in vivo bioequivalence requirements for WHO Model List of Essential Medicines immediate-release, solid oral dosage forms; WHO Certification Scheme on the quality of pharmaceutical products moving in international commerce; Good reliance practices in the regulation of medical products: high-level principles and considerations; and Good regulatory practices in the regulations of medical products. All of the above are included in this report and recommended for implementation.

The International Pharmacopoeia contains a collection of recommended methods for analysis and quality specifications for pharmaceutical substances, excipients and products. This new edition consolidates the texts of the five separate volumes of the third edition and includes new monographs for antiretroviral substances (didanosine, indinavir sulfate, nelfinavir mesilate, nevirapine, ritonavir, saquinovir, and saquinovir mesilate) adopted by the WHO Expert Committee on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations in October 2004. It includes some additions and amendments to the general notices of the Pharmacopoeia, as well as some changes to its layout and format. Volume one contains monographs for pharmaceutical substances A to O and the General Notices; and volume two contains monographs for pharmaceutical substances P to Z, together with those for dosage forms and radiopharmaceutical preparations, the methods of analysis and reagents.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Committee on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations advises the Director-General of WHO in the area of medicines quality assurance. It provides independent expert recommendations and guidance to ensure that medicines meet standards of quality, safety and efficacy in all WHO Member States. Its advice is developed through a broad consensus-building process and covers all areas of quality assurance of medicines, from their development to their distribution to patients. In the area of quality control, the Expert Committee reviewed new and revised specifications and general texts for inclusion in The International Pharmacopoeia, and received the annual report of the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM), the custodian centre for International Chemical Reference Substances (ICRS). The Committee adopted a number of monographs, general texts and ICRS. It noted the report on Phase 6 of the External Quality Assurance Assessment Scheme (EQAAS) and on new approaches to ensure sustainability of this scheme through user fees. The Committee further acknowledged the progress of good pharmacopoeial practices (GPhP), and adopted the document on GPhP which was prepared by the consecutive international meetings of world pharmacopoeias. In the various quality assurance-related areas the Expert Committee was presented with a number of new and revised guidelines related to good manufacturing practices (GMP), distribution and trade of pharmaceuticals and regulatory practice. It adopted 10 guidelines as listed below as well as 22 new specifications and general texts for inclusion in The International Pharmacopoeia. The Committee took note of ongoing work to promote collaboration and information exchange through the good regulatory practice project and welcomed the development of a comprehensive set of guidelines for all national regulatory authorities through this project.