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: