Algeria's drug agency joins US Pharmacopeia as voting member

Algeria's National Agency for Pharmaceutical Products (ANPP) has joined the US Pharmacopeia (USP) as a voting member, a move announced on Monday, 9 November.

Algérie 360 reported that the USP named the agency among 14 new members of its Convention in an official statement on 22 April. The list also included the National Union of Pharmacy Operators (UNOP), which represents drug manufacturers.

Awras reported a statement from the Ministry of Pharmaceutical Industry on the membership. The ministry said the step aims to strengthen international cooperation on the quality and safety of medicines.

What the USP does

The USP is a non-profit science body founded in 1820 in the United States. It sets standards for the quality, purity and identity of medicines, active ingredients and food supplements.

The standards are collected in a reference book, the USP-NF, which is updated regularly. In the United States, the law recognises them as official, and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enforces them.

The USP says its standards are used in more than 140 countries.

What the membership changes

The USP Convention has more than 450 members, from health authorities, industry, universities and professional groups. It elects the board and the expert council that writes the standards.

As a voting member, the agency takes part in these elections and in the USP's main direction. Algeria gains a voice in running a body that influences medicine standards worldwide.

The ministry said the membership confirms Algeria's efforts to improve its regulatory work and protect public health.

The membership is not a certification or accreditation. It does not guarantee that medicines sold in Algeria meet US standards, and it does not make USP standards compulsory in Algeria.

Quality checks and exports

The membership opens access to USP expertise, including exchanges with its scientists, training, cooperation programmes and work on the standards. These exchanges may help the agency strengthen quality checks, especially against fake medicines.

In October, the agency flagged a batch of fake botulinum toxin in circulation.

Algerian laboratories already export medicines, as an earlier report on exports to Côte d'Ivoire showed. Manufacturers that aim at foreign markets must prove their products meet recognised international standards.