The European Pharmacopoeia: bringing pharmaceutical standard harmonisation to Europe

Abstract

The article describes the history of the European Pharmacopoeia, which is a unique source of pharmacopoeial drug quality standards, not only for the European part of the continent, but for the entire pharmaceutical world. The European Pharmacopoeia has gained the status of a collection of reliable quality standards for medicines and their constituent components. These standards are the basis for the safe use of high-quality and affordable medicines by patients. The texts of the European Pharmacopoeia together with the certification procedures guarantee the quality of pharmaceutical substances. They give manufacturers a high-value opportunity to demonstrate adequate control over the quality of pharmaceutical substances through meeting the requirements of the relevant monographs of the European Pharmacopoeia, which helps to reduce the efforts for the regulatory authorities and to simplify the procedure for their implementation and use. Despite the fact that initially the European Pharmacopoeia was created to solve topical problems in the member-countries of the European Pharmacopoeia Commission, today its sphere of influence is much broader and is not limited to countries that have signed the Convention on its development.