HSA Pharmaceutical Laboratory Designated a World Health Organisation Prequalified Quality Control Laboratory in Pharmaceuticals

The Health Sciences Authority's (HSA) Pharmaceutical Laboratory under its Applied Sciences Group has been designated a World Health Organisation (WHO) Prequalified Quality Control Laboratory in pharmaceuticals under the WHO Prequalification of Medicines Programme.

2      HSA is proud to be a part of the international team of laboratories that ensure standards of quality in medicinal products procured by United Nation (UN) agencies. As the only WHO-recognised pharmaceutical laboratory in Singapore, HSA joins nine other laboratories worldwide to provide the UN agencies with the testing service for pharmaceutical products the agencies intend to procure to benefit those in need.

Scope

3      As a WHO Prequalified Quality Control Laboratory in pharmaceutical products, HSA will contribute to WHO's Prequalification Medicines Programme by providing analytical testing services of priority products for treatment of HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and in reproductive health to UN agencies. This will help to ensure unified standards of quality, safety and efficacy in these products supplied under various UN programmes to countries around the world. For more information on the Prequalification of Medicines Programme, please access http://apps.who.int/prequal/.

Another Mark of Confidence in our Professional Standards

4      This latest achievement by the Pharmaceutical Laboratory is another testimonial of its high standard and rigorous system in laboratory practice and management. It adds to the growing roll of internationally-recognised accreditations that HSA's Pharmaceutical Division has attained so far, including:

• WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Quality Assurance since 1994
• Singapore Quality Class for Business Excellence since 2002
• ISO/IEC17025 (SAC-SINGLAS) (upgraded from ISO/IEC Guide in Jul 2002)

5      Said HSA's Dr Paul Chui, Group Director, Applied Sciences Group, “HSA laboratories constantly pursue higher bars of technical and service excellence so as to better create and add value to our clients' missions. With HSA Pharmaceutical Laboratory's designation as a WHO Prequalified Quality Control Laboratory, we are pleased to be able to contribute to the value chain of WHO and UN in improving public health through better access of quality medicines to those in need.”

Going Forward

6      With this recent designation, Pharmaceutical Laboratory envisages a closer working relationship with WHO, while it continues to support WHO in other activities such as development of monographs for International Pharmacopeia, technical training of WHO fellows, and re-examinations and validations of chemical reference standards for WHO.

HEALTH SCIENCES AUTHORITY
SINGAPORE
3 JULY 2009

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Published: 3 Jul 2009

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