Amman, Oct. 15 (Petra) -- The Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA), in collaboration with the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), held a regional technical forum in Amman with the participation of representatives from drug regulatory authorities across the region. The forum aimed to enhance collaborative and integrated efforts in ensuring the quality of pharmaceuticals.
Director General of the JFDA, Rana Obiadat, highlighted the advancements of Jordan’s pharmaceutical industry, noting that high-quality Jordanian medicines are exported to around 80 markets worldwide. She emphasized the agency’s continued support for the national pharmaceutical industry in achieving the highest international standards to ensure the safety, efficacy, and quality of medications.
Obiadat praised the partnership with the U.S. Pharmacopeia, commending its efforts in strengthening quality assurance standards, drug safety, and good manufacturing practices. She also referred to JFDA’s achievement of becoming an active member of the USP since 2010 and its ongoing work to align drug regulation and quality control with globally accepted standards.
In 2024, the JFDA joined the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) and is currently completing the requirements for membership in the Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S). The agency is also working toward achieving an advanced maturity level as evaluated by the World Health Organization (WHO).
She added that the JFDA is committed to the continuous scientific and professional training of its staff to ensure the quality, safety, and efficacy of medicines locally, in line with its global responsibility to safeguard the quality of Jordanian pharmaceutical and food exports.
For her part, President of the USP Hanan Sboul reaffirmed USP’s commitment to ensuring drug quality and cooperating with regulatory agencies through capacity building, technical expertise, and access to reference materials and standards. She stressed the importance of applying global standards to ensure the safety, effectiveness, and quality of medicines.
Sboul expressed her pride in the exceptional progress of the pharmaceutical industry in the region and the high level of trust that Jordanian pharmaceutical products enjoy both regionally and internationally, placing Jordan among the leading countries in this field.
Meanwhile, USP’s Regional Director for the Middle East and Africa, Zakyia Al-Kurdi, stated that the scientific and regulatory forum focuses on a range of developments in line with global requirements such as ICH, which are of particular importance to both industry and regulators.
She added that the forum provides a valuable platform and exceptional opportunity for knowledge exchange, expertise sharing, and interaction among professionals and experts, reflecting USP’s belief in the importance of collective work between regulatory bodies and the pharmaceutical industry.
The forum included participation from a delegation from the United Arab Emirates, headed by Shaikha Al Mazrouei, Director of the Reference Laboratory at the Emirates Drug Establishment, as well as a delegation from Iraq led by Ali Kareem, Director General of the Technical Affairs Department at the Iraqi Ministry of Health, along with representatives from the Iraqi Center for Drug Research, the Iraqi League for Medicine Producers, the JFDA, and the US Pharmacopeia.
The event featured a series of specialized technical sessions led by JFDA experts and USP professionals.
//Petra// WH
