- The Federal Commission for Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris), the Pharmacopeia of the United Mexican States (FEUM) and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) signed a historic agreement.
- The alliance also fulfills the objective of communicating, educating and warning the population about the quality of medicines.
- To guarantee safe medicines, the fight against low-quality drugs and counterfeit products will be strengthened due to the constant risk they represent to health.
The unfortunate recent events in Durango, among other events, have demonstrated the importance of having safe medications. It is an aspect that means the difference between life and death. In addition, it also has a strong impact on the doctors in charge of caring for patients.
With this in mind, the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris), the Pharmacopeia of the United Mexican States (FEUM) and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) signed a memorandum of understanding on actions of cooperation. They also presented the campaign “Medicines we can trust.”
What does it consist of?
This understanding signature has as its main objective the ratification of commitments between both nations through the work of the pharmacopoeias and the Mexican health agency. It also focuses on promoting cooperation on standards and specifications for medicines and processes to ensure that they are safe, effective and of quality.
“We are transforming Cofepris and with great pride also the Mexican Pharmacopoeia. We firmly believe that international cooperation makes it possible to bring tangible benefits to the health of our population. With joint work, we guarantee the safety and efficacy of the products available on the market for the treatment of patients,” said the head of the Mexican health authority, Svarch Pérez.
While the director of Social Communication of Cofepris, Isaac Macip, emphasized that the alliance also meets the objective of communicate, educate and warn the population about the quality of medicines. These objectives offer the information tool, of great value, since it is what allows people to know which medicines to trust and which ones not.
“A medicine is an object of great value in all societies and for each individual; It is the ointment that the soccer player hopes will take away the pain of a ball shot; It is the syrup on which a long night the mother begs that she take away the pain of one of her children, and it is also the therapeutic treatment that a person ingests every day to maintain adequate levels of a part of her organism. Here the importance of guaranteeing that the medicines that exist in the market are a product that we can trust, hence the title of this campaign.”
USP’s executive director, Ronald Piervincenzi, noted that “Cofepris has a strong leadership role in the world. With the international membership in ICH, it is very clear which is the path to follow, both for the Mexican population and to be at the forefront as a leader in the quality of medicines”.
The Health Attaché of the United States Embassy, Julia Marinissen, reported that the United States is initiating joint actions with Mexico and Canada to work on a supply chain for pandemics.
Guarantee quality drugs for patients
Regarding the campaign “Medicines we can trust”it was announced that through this diffusion the population will be informed about the quality, safety and efficacy of the treatments approved by the health authorities of both nations.
In addition, it seeks to combat low-quality drugs and counterfeit products due to the constant risk they represent to health. In many cases, these risky products are marketed through internet pages and social networks, which facilitates their proliferation and accessibility.
As part of the alliance of health institutions from both nations, USP authorities visited the facilities of the Cofepris National Reference Laboratory, with the aim of joining greater cooperation efforts that benefit the populations of each country.
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