E-drug: South Asia Conference on Drug Quality/Information
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sherrie Borden, tel:+1-301-816.8268, e-mail: slb@usp.org
USP and DIA Host October International Conference in Nepal
Concerning Pharmaceutical Affairs
Conference Focuses on Improving Drug Quality in SAARC Countries
Rockville, Maryland, USA, August 2, 2001-The U.S. Pharmacopeia
Drug Quality & Information Program (USPDQI) and the Drug
Information Association (DIA) are co-sponsoring an International
Conference on Pharmaceutical Affairs, to be held October 2-5,
2001, at Hotel De L'Annapurma in Kathmandu, Nepal. USPDQI is a
cooperative program with the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID), Office of Population, Health and
Nutrition.
The conference is designed to give attendees an understanding of
the global regulatory environment and its impact on developing
countries, and to improve regional efforts in drug quality assurance.
It seeks to facilitate regional cooperation in pharmaceutical
registration, production, and use among the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation countries (SAARC). SAARC
member countries include Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The conference is jointly organized by the Department of Drug
Administration, Ministry of Health Nepal, Drug Information
Association (DIA), USPDQI, and the Graduate Pharmacists
Association of Nepal (GPAN). It will be co-chaired by Keith
Johnson, deputy director at Management Sciences for Health, and
Sultan Ghani, manager, Division of Pharmaceutical Quality at Health
Canada. Representatives of various national regulatory agencies,
industry, and academia as well as Roger Williams, M.D., USP
executive vice president and chief executive officer, and Lembit
Rago from the World Health Organization, will speak at the
conference.
Conference attendees will have the opportunity to attend sessions
focusing on the following topics (details of each topic are attached):
� Harmonization of Pharmaceutical Regulation and Compliance
Issues
� Regional Cooperation and Harmonization
� Quality Control, Quality Assurance, GMPs and cGMPs
� Counterfeiting
� Information Access and Use
The three-day conference is designed for individuals working for
drug and pharmaceutical excipient manufacturers; quality
assurance/quality control, procurement, and pharmaceutical
research and development personnel; consumer health advocates,
and government regulators. For further information about the
conference, visit the USP website at www.usp.org/meetings or
DIA's website at www.diahome.org. Or to register, call conference
organizers in Nepal at 977-1-228244 or by e-mail at
gpan@mail.com.np.
In addition, exhibit space is available at the conference venue. To
request information and/or to reserve a booth, check the box on the
registration form or send an e-mail to: gpan@mail.com.np.
U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), a non-government organization,
establishes state-of-the-art standards to ensure the quality of
medicines and other health care technologies. These standards are
developed by a unique process of public involvement and are
accepted worldwide. USP also helps to monitor quality and prevent
errors in human and veterinary medicine through national reporting
programs. USP is a not-for-profit organization that achieves its goals
through the contributions of volunteers representing pharmacy,
medicine, and other health care professions, as well as science,
academia, the U.S. government, the pharmaceutical industry, and
consumer organizations. For more information, visit www.usp.org.
Drug Information Association (DIA) is an independent non-profit
international association of professionals involved in all areas of
health care. DIA provides a worldwide forum for exchange and
dissemination of information that is intended to advance the
discover, development and utilization of medicines and related
health care technologies.
Graduate Pharmacists' Association, Nepal (GPAN) is a
non-governmental non-profit professional organization of Nepalese
pharmacists.
Nancy Blum, M.P.H., M.A.
Program Director,
Global Assistance Initiatives
U.S.Pharmacopeia
12601 Twinbrook Parkway
Rockville, MD 20852
(301) 816-8161
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