MQCSD

Assuring Safe Reliable Medicines;

Preserving a Healthy Caribbean

The Medicines Quality Control and Surveillance(MQCSD)

The CARPHA Medicines Quality Control and Surveillance Department (MQCSD) is the regional ISO/IEC 17025 accredited medicines quality control laboratory. The MQCSD analyses medicines to determine their compliance to applicable international standards of quality, efficacy and safety for CARPHA Member States and provides information and advisory services on medicines quality control testing. The MQCSD provides technical, advisory and quality management support to the four national medicines quality control laboratories in the Caribbean.

Our Establishment

The MQCSD has served the Caribbean for over 30 years. The Department’s testing services were established by the Ministers of Health of the Caribbean to pool resources into an efficient, accessible regional laboratory to verify the quality of medicines for the Region, liaising with CARPHA member states and appropriate partners to provide information and advisory services in support of the regulatory activities of national medicines regulatory authorities/ procurement bodies.

Our Work

Medicines Quality Control Testing on Request

Provide medicines quality control testing upon request of a CARPHA member States based on their regulatory need such as

national pre-market authorization

routine assessment of quality

national post-marketing surveillance of medicines

complaints

suspected quality issue

suspected counterfeit

investigation due to adverse drug reaction

confirmation of out-of-specification result obtained by a

national medicines quality control laboratory

Regional Capacity Building

The MQCSD provides and supports training activities to strengthen medicines quality testing activities for CARPHA Member States. This includes technical and quality assurance training to the national medicines quality control laboratories, to aid with capacity building and strengthening of technical competence.

Risk-Based Post Market Surveillance Programme

Conducts a risk-based post market surveillance (PMS) programme for the monitoring and quality assessment of selected medicines. The MQCSD coordinates the annual selection of medicines of regional importance through risk-based criteria developed for the programme and the proposed schedule, with input from key stakeholders such as the focal points of the national regulatory authorities/procurement bodies.The focal points collect and submit samples to the MQCSD for testing according to the schedule. The results are issued in Certificates of Analysis to the national regulatory authorities/procurement bodies for decision-making, action and/or reporting to national, regional or international monitoring systems.

Our Impact

Strong health systems and regulation are important to the establishment and protection of good public health and universal well-being of countries and their populations. Access to good quality, safe, and effective medicines for consumers and health professionals is a fundamental pillar. From minor ailments to critical illnesses, patients and medical professionals rely on medicines for curative treatment and/or management. The MQCSD contributes to and strengthens the regulatory systems that ensure the quality, safety and efficacy of medicines used in the Caribbean through:

Support Access to Safe Good Quality Medicines in CARPHA Member States

Confirm the good quality of medicines available to consumers and health professionals, building confidence in market supply

Detection of substandard or falsified medicines along the Supply Chain

Detect substandard, falsified or as applicable unregistered medicines to reduce potential harm to patients, adverse drug effects and mismanagement of disease

Support Evidence Based Public Health Strategies and Decisions by CARPHA Member States

Provide data and evidence on the quality of medicines through its certificates of analysis for the regulatory activities and decisions of national medicines regulatory authorities/procurement bodies to ensure good quality medicines on the market

CARPHA HEAD OFFICE

16-18 Jamaica Blvd,
Federation Park,
Port of Spain,
Trinidad & Tobago
(+868) 299-0820
(+868) 299-0895
(+868) 622-4261
postmaster@carpha.org

CARPHA JAMAICA

Hope Gardens,
Kingston 6,
Jamaica
(+876) 977-3540
(+876) 702-4235

CARPHA ST. LUCIA

P.O. Box 1111,
The Morne, Castries,
Saint Lucia
(+758) 452-2501
(+758) 452-1087
(+758) 453-2721

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