NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS FOR 



MEDICINES ' 



By E. FuLLERTON Cook, P. D., Ph. M.» 



Uniform standards for medicines are a recognized need for the med- 

 ical world. Many substances now used in the treatment of disease 

 must be exactly controlled as to strength, since they are often highly 

 potent and require exact dosage if they are to produce the desired 

 therapeutic effects. There is also the possibility of foreign substances 

 finding their way into medicinal products, lessening their value or 

 even adding an element of danger, and tests must be provided to 

 guard rigidly against such a happening. This is not a new problem, 

 but its solution is being attacked with increased energy and with a 

 degree of success which carries confidence to the physician and the 

 patient. 



In this program for the production of medical substances of de- 

 pendable quality there is, m the main, a commendable cooperation 

 between all of those who share the responsibilities. This starts with 

 the manufacturer, who must maintain a scientific staff of reliable and 

 skilled experts to select raw materials and to test these materials for 

 conformity to the established standards of purity and strength. 

 Another group of trained technicians must be responsible for the pro- 

 duction and quality of the finished products. These medicines are 

 widely varied. Among them will be found chemical salts; new syn- 

 thetic compounds of a complex nature, such as arsphenamine ; anes- 

 thetics, like ether, which are so important an element in the safety of 

 the surgical patient; or perhaps it is a biological product, illustrated by 

 diphtheria antitoxin; or an ointment or a tablet, calling for skill and 

 accuracy in manufacture. These are but a few illustrations from 

 among the hundreds of different medicines employed today. 



After production and sale, again the established standards apply 

 and at this time with greater significance than before, since the tests 

 are likely at any time to be made by the laboratories of enforcement 

 officials with the possibility of substances being found unofficial and 



1 One of the 1936 series of Popular Science Lectures of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science. 

 Reprinted by permission from the American Journal of Pharmacy, May 1936. 



' Chairman of the U. S. P. Revision Committee and Director of the Pharmaceutical Laboratories at the 

 Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science. 



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