WHAT DOES USP MEAN?
The abbreviation USP stands for United States
Pharmacopeia, a document first published in 1820 by the
Medical Society of New York State. Recognized as official by
Congress in 1848, this document was used as a standard
reference by physicians for prescribing medicines. Today, the
USP includes chemical descriptions, identifying tests, and
purity tests, primarily for active ingredients. All materials
listed in the USP are considered drugs by law and subject to
all the U.S. Food & Drug Administration requirements
pertaining to drugs. Labeling a product or a substance as
USP implies that it conforms to all the legal requirements of
the FDA and that it was produced in accordance with the
principles outlined in FDA’s Good Manufacturing Practices
(GMP). A new edition of the USP is published every five
years in the years ending in "0" and "5," with ongoing revisions
and additions issued during the interim years.
Many other nations also have compiled an official national
pharmacopeia, similar in scope and content to the USP.
Currently, there is a collaborative international program to
harmonize the glycerin monographs in the USP and in the
European Pharmacopeia, which may later be expanded to
include other nations.
Next: WHAT ABOUT THE FCC?
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