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The Expert Committee on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations works towards clear, independent and practical standards and guidelines for the quality assurance of medicines. Standards are developed by the Committee through worldwide consultation and an international consensus-building process. The following new guidelines were adopted and recommended for use, in addition to 20 monographs and general texts for inclusion in The International Pharmacopoeia and 11 new International Chemical Reference Substances. The International Pharmacopoeia - updating mechanism for the section on radiopharmaceuticals; WHO good manufacturing practices for pharmaceutical products: main principles; Model quality assurance system for procurement agencies; Assessment tool based on the model quality assurance system for procurement agencies: aide-memoire for inspection; Guidelines on submission of documentation for prequalification of finished pharmaceutical products approved by stringent regulatory authorities; and Guidelines on submission of documentation for a multisource (generic) finished pharmaceutical product: quality part.

This report sets out the recommendations of an international group of experts relating to developments in the quality assurance of medicines and specifications for drug substances and dosage forms. It contains guidelines of direct relevance to the UN Prequalification Programme for Priority Essential Medicines and for quality control laboratories, including procedures governing the assessment of pharmaceutical products for procurement by UN agencies and for assessing the acceptability of quality control laboratories. It also includes discussion regarding several monographs for inclusion in the International Pharmacopoeia, relating to antiretrovirals, including fixed-dose combinations, TB medicines and antimalarial and paediatric medicines.