The ULg (University of Liege) has received confirmation from the World Health Organisation (WHO) that it has been officially recognised as a medicines testing body. Both the WHO and private manufacturers will now be able to rely on the university to test medicines and help in the fight against counterfeiting. This is a prestigious international accreditation and the only one in the world for a university.
ULg is therefore the first university in the world which is prequalified by the WHO. This prequalification will enable 6 units from ULg's Pharmacy Department to be part of an international network of around fifty laboratories which are approved to test the quality of medicines. Moreover, ULg will become an official partner of the WHO, the United Nations and the Member States.
The World Health Organisation can now assign "testing and quality control functions for medicine production at manufacturers' premises", the university announced.
The WHO prequalification will also enable the ULg to strengthen its services for national quality control laboratories in developing countries, and consequently help to improve the health systems in these countries. This concerns four African countries in particular: the DRC, Burkina Faso, Benin and Rwanda. Additionally, ULg is co-financed in Belgium by ARES to organise international traineeships for medicine quality: it will now be able to offer a WHO-approved framework to the trainees, many of whom come from Africa.
As a leading laboratory, ULg currently has the opportunity to take part in major international surveys carried out under the auspices of the WHO, for example HIV/Aids, Anti-Malaria or "Lifesaving Commodities". Along with the other prequalified laboratories, ULg will participate in a worldwide network of excellence, exchanging information and best practice, in particular with regards to the international fight against counterfeit medicines.
This accreditation has been awarded following a "rigorous audit", and it will be reassessed every three years, ULg has confirmed.
In 2014, the University of Liege was already the first European university to be awarded the European GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) label for testing the quality of medicines.
In the long run, the management of the Pharmacy Department hopes to become a WHO Collaborative Centre, which would be the highest international recognition of ULg's capabilities in testing the quality of medicines.