The European Pharmacopoeia [1] (Pharmacopoeia Europaea, Ph. Eur.) is a major regional pharmacopoeia which provides common quality standards throughout the pharmaceutical industry in Europe to control the quality of medicines, and the substances used to manufacture them. [1] It is a published collection of monographs which describe both the individual and general quality standards for ingredients, dosage forms, and methods of analysis for medicines. [1] These standards apply to medicines for both human and veterinary use. [1]
The European Pharmacopoeia has a legally binding character. It is used as an official reference to serve public health, [1] and is part of the regulatory requirements for obtaining a Marketing Authorisation (MA) for a medicinal (human or veterinary) product. [1] The quality standards of the European Pharmacopoeia apply throughout the entire life-cycle of a product, and become legally binding and mandatory on the same date in all thirty-nine (39) signatory states, which include all European Union member states.
Several legal texts make the European Pharmacopoeia mandatory in Europe. [1] The Convention on the Elaboration of a European Pharmacopoeia (ETS No. 50) [2] which was adopted by the Council of Europe in 1964, laid the groundwork for the development of the European Pharmacopoeia. In 1994, a Protocol (ETS No. 134) [1] [3] was adopted, amending the convention to prepare for the accession of the European Union (EU), and defining the respective powers of the European Union and its member states within the European Pharmacopoeia Commission.
European Union Directive 2001/82/EC [4] and Directive 2001/83/EC, [5] (as amended) state the legally binding character of European Pharmacopoeia texts for Marketing Authorisation Applications (MAA). All manufacturers of medicines or substances for pharmaceutical use therefore must apply the European Pharmacopoeia quality standards in order to be able to market and use these products in Europe. [1]
As of February 2020, thirty-nine (39) member states and the European Union are signatories to the Convention on the Elaboration of a European Pharmacopoeia. There are 30 observers in all: five European countries, 23 non-European countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
While the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM), a directorate of the Council of Europe, provides scientific and administrative support for the European Pharmacopoeia, the governing body is the European Pharmacopoeia Commission. The European Pharmacopoeia Commission determines the general principles applicable to the elaboration of the European Pharmacopoeia. It also decides the work programme, sets up and appoints experts to the specialised groups responsible for preparing monographs, adopts these monographs, and recommends dates for the implementation of its decisions within the territories of the contracting parties.
This Commission meets in Strasbourg, France, three times a year, to adopt texts proposed by its groups of experts, and to decide on its programme of work and general policies. Items are added to the work programme in response to requests received by the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare from the member states and their national authorities, industry or experts from around the world, based on current scientific and health issues. Each national delegation has one vote. In all technical questions, the decisions of the commission are taken by a unanimous vote of the national delegations that cast a vote. Member states' representatives mostly come from health authorities, national pharmacopoeia authorities and universities; and are appointed by the national authorities on the basis of their expertise. Representatives of the thirty (30) observers are invited to attend the sessions, but cannot vote.
The current chair of the commission is Prof. Salvador Cañigueral, elected in March 2022. [6] The term of the chair is three years, and runs in parallel with other members of the commission's Presidium. [6]
The first edition of the European Pharmacopoeia was published in 1969, and consisted of 120 texts. The 11th edition, currently applicable, was published in July 2022. The Ph. Eur. is applicable in 39 European countries and used in over 130 countries worldwide. [7] Nowadays it contains over 3000 texts (the monographs), covering all therapeutic areas and consisting of:
Ph. Eur. texts contain detailed analytical methods to identify the substance or product and control its quality and quantitative strength.
Ph. Eur. texts also address the issue of impurities in medicinal products, which do not offer any therapeutic benefit for the patient and sometimes are potentially toxic. Impurities are present at every stage of the manufacture of medicines: in starting materials, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), reagents, intermediates, excipients and primary packaging materials. But Ph. Eur. texts’ section on impurities is perhaps the most essential part of a quality standard of an active substance.
A new edition of the European Pharmacopoeia is published every three years: in both English and French, [7] by the Council of Europe. It is made available in print and electronic (online and downloadable) versions; the online version is also accessible from smartphones and tablet computers. [7]
Translations into other languages are published by the member states themselves. For example, a German version is jointly published by Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
In the future, the former three-year cycle comprising one edition and eight supplements will be replaced by an annual edition made up of three issues, numbered .1 to .3 (for example, the 12th Edition will consist of issues 12.1, 12.2 and 12.3). Each of these issues will contain the new and revised texts adopted at one of the three European Pharmacopoeia Commission (EPC) sessions held annually. What will not change is the implementation schedule, which remains January, April and July, respectively, of the year following publication of a text "
A pharmacopoeia, pharmacopeia, or pharmacopoea, in its modern technical sense, is a book containing directions for the identification of compound medicines, and published by the authority of a government or a medical or pharmaceutical society.
A regulation is a legal act of the European Union which becomes immediately enforceable as law in all member states simultaneously. Regulations can be distinguished from directives which, at least in principle, need to be transposed into national law. Regulations can be adopted by means of a variety of legislative procedures depending on their subject matter. Despite their name, Regulations are primary legislation rather than regulatory delegated legislation; as such, they are often described as "Acts".
The regulation of therapeutic goods, defined as drugs and therapeutic devices, varies by jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the United States, they are regulated at the national level by a single agency. In other jurisdictions they are regulated at the state level, or at both state and national levels by various bodies, as in Australia.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) in charge of the evaluation and supervision of pharmaceutical products. Prior to 2004, it was known as the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products or European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA).
The British Pharmacopoeia (BP) is the national pharmacopoeia of the United Kingdom. It is an annually published collection of quality standards for medicinal substances in the UK, which is used by individuals and organisations involved in pharmaceutical research, development, manufacture and testing.
The International Pharmacopoeia is a pharmacopoeia issued by the World Health Organization as a recommendation, with the aim to provide international quality specifications for pharmaceutical substances and dosage forms, together with supporting general methods of analysis, for global use. Its texts can be used or adapted by any WHO member state wishing to establish legal pharmaceutical requirements.
EudraLex is the collection of rules and regulations governing medicinal products in the European Union.
The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM) is a Directorate and partial agreement of the Council of Europe that traces its origins and statutes to the Convention on the Elaboration of a European Pharmacopoeia.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to clinical research:
A drug reference standard or pharmaceutical reference standard is a highly characterized material suitable to test the identity, strength, quality and purity of substances for pharmaceutical use and medicinal products.
Marketing authorisation is the process of reviewing and assessing the evidence to support a medicinal product, such as a drug, in relation to its marketing, finalised by granting of a licence to be sold.
The Drinking Water Directive 2020 is an EU law that protects the quality of drinking water and forms part of the regulation of water supply and sanitation in the European Union.
The term environmental persistent pharmaceutical pollutants (EPPP) was first suggested in the nomination in 2010 of pharmaceuticals and environment as an emerging issue in a Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) by the International Society of Doctors for the Environment (ISDE). The occurring problems from EPPPs are in parallel explained under environmental impact of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCP). The European Union summarizes pharmaceutical residues with the potential of contamination of water and soil together with other micropollutants under "priority substances".
The Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC), is the European Medicines Agency's committee responsible for elaborating the agency's opinions on herbal medicines.
Drug nomenclature is the systematic naming of drugs, especially pharmaceutical drugs. In the majority of circumstances, drugs have 3 types of names: chemical names, the most important of which is the IUPAC name; generic or nonproprietary names, the most important of which are international nonproprietary names (INNs); and trade names, which are brand names. Under the INN system, generic names for drugs are constructed out of affixes and stems that classify the drugs into useful categories while keeping related names distinguishable. A marketed drug might also have a company code or compound code.
Because of the uncertain nature of various alternative therapies and the wide variety of claims different practitioners make, alternative medicine has been a source of vigorous debate, even over the definition of "alternative medicine". Dietary supplements, their ingredients, safety, and claims, are a continual source of controversy. In some cases, political issues, mainstream medicine and alternative medicine all collide, such as in cases where synthetic drugs are legal but the herbal sources of the same active chemical are banned.
Official Medicines Control Laboratory (OMCL) is the term coined in Europe for a public institute in charge of controlling the quality of medicines and, depending on the country, other similar products (for example, medical devices). They are part of or report to national competent authorities (NCAs).
The Falsified Medicines Directive is a legal framework introduced by the European Commission, to improve the protection of public health within the European Union. The directive applies since 2 January 2013. The European Commission Delegated Regulation, (EU) 2016/161, supplements Directive 2001/83/EC with rules regarding safety features for the packaging of medicinal products for human use. The regulation was adopted in October 2015. Measures to counteract to fake medicines include stricter record-keeping of wholesale distributors, tougher inspections of pharmaceutical producers, an EU-wide quality mark to identify online pharmacies and obligatory safety features on packages.
Formularium Slovenicum is Slovenian addendum to the European Pharmacopoeia. It promotes Slovenian pharmaceutical terminology and the regulations affecting the field of pharmacy in Slovenia. It has been regularly published by the Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices of the Republic of Slovenia.