USP Publishes Spanish Edition Of United States Pharmacopeia And National Formulary

The U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) is pleased to announce that the third annual Spanish edition of its core compendia, the United States Pharmacopeia and National Formulary (USP-NF), is now available for purchase. The official edition for 2008, USP 31-NF 26, provides specifications needed to produce more than 4,000 quality pharmaceuticals, excipients, dietary supplements, biologics and other therapeutics.

USP-NF, recognized by U.S. federal law as the official compendia for drug standards, offers access to monographs defining the required standards for the identity, quality, purity, strength, labeling and packaging for prescription and over-the-counter medications, dietary supplements and other health care products. These standards are enforceable by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for drugs marketed in or exported to the United States, and are also recognized by governments and regulatory agencies throughout the world.

"USP is proud to offer a Spanish edition of the USP-NF for the third year in a row," said Darrell Abernethy, M.D., Ph.D., chief science officer of USP. "By translating the compendia, we hope to better meet the needs of our Spanish-speaking partners as we work together to advance USP's mission of providing good pharmaceutical care for all people, all over the world."

The Spanish edition, Farmacopea de los Estados Unidos de América-Formulario National, is an official, expert translation of the USP-NF in English. Written in a universal, neutral Spanish, the translation process is supervised by USP's Spanish Advisory Panel - a dedicated body of leading scientific experts from Spanish-speaking countries. USP offers expert scientific and technical support in Spanish during business hours that are convenient for Spanish-speaking customers.

USP-NF is used by quality assurance and quality control scientists, pharmaceutical manufacturers, regulatory professionals, compounding professionals, lawyers, and pharmacy and medical schools all over the world. In addition to monograph standards, USP 31-NF 26 provides more than 200 general chapters covering general tests and assays, and information on emerging areas of science and medicine.