Contact Us

  • Medicines Quality Control and Surveillance Department
  • Hope Gardens,
    Kingston 6,
    Jamaica
  • (+876) 977-3540
    (+876) 702-4235
  • carphajam@carpha.org

About Us

The Medicines Quality Control and Surveillance (MQCSD) Department is the sole ISO/IEC 17025 accredited pharmaceutical quality control laboratory. As part of the Caribbean Public Health Agency, the Department analyses and verifies the adherence of medicines marketed in the Caribbean to international quality and safety standards.  

MQCSD provide CARPHA Member States with an efficient, well equipped facility for essential monitoring of imported or locally manufactured drugs marketed in the region focusing on:

Our Work

MQCSD monitors medicinal quality in the Caribbean through the following substantive portfolios:

Routine Risk-Based Testing

Conducting routine risk-based testing of medicines for market approval in collaboration with National Medicines Regulatory Authorities/Ministries of Health within Member States.

Post Market Surveillance Programme

Conducting a risk-based post market surveillance programme in partnership with National Medicines Regulatory Authorities/ Ministries of Health and CARPHA’s regulatory unit, the Caribbean Regulatory System (CRS). The Department evaluates the continual quality of medicines after approval for sale in the region. Member States can report suspected substandard, falsified medicines and/or adverse medicine reactions to a regional platform called VigiCarib for analysis and action, including testing by the laboratory. 

Regional Capacity Building

Provide technical and quality assurance training to counterparts in national pharmaceutical quality control laboratories upon request, to aid with capacity building and strengthening of technical competence.

Our Impact

Medicinal quality is fundamental to the preservation of public health. This aligns with CARICOM’s strategic priority of advancing initiatives for health and wellness for improvement of quality of life in the Caribbean. From minor ailments to critical illnesses, patients and medical professionals rely on medicines for curative treatment and/or management. Through our risk-based testing and comprehensive post market surveillance programme and regional partnerships, the Medicines Quality Control and Surveillance Department is a key component in establishing regional confidence in medicines on the market by: