The European Pharmacopoeia: A Common European Initiative by the Council of Europe

Abstract

The European Pharmacopoeia, founded in 1964, ensures the quality and safety of medicines by elaborating compulsory standards, by describing quality control methods, and by making it possible to detect counterfeit medicines. European Pharmacopoeia standards apply to all medicines regardless of their origin, their method of production or their type. The official standards published by the European Pharmacopoeia provide a legal and scientific basis for quality control during the development, production, and marketing of medicines. The establishment of the European Pharmacopoeia in Strasbourg represents an important strategic asset to the BioValley showing the trinational region as an importance life sciences cluster.