From July 23rd to July 25th, representatives of the regulatory agencies of different countries and experts from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) met in Buenos Aires city to advance in the development of a global tool for evaluating regulatory health systems. The measure, which had been subject to public consultation, will be implemented next year by WHO countries to assess national regulatory systems for drug products.

The issue was prioritized after the countries of the Americas approved in 2010, in the PAHO Directing Council, a resolution to strengthen national regulatory agencies for drugs and biological products. Thus, the tool proposed by WHO aims to establish global assessment parameters on each regulatory function of chemically and biologically synthesized drugs and vaccines.

The participants sought to improve the measure according to the recommendations suggested in the public consultation process, develop quantitative indicators to be included and reach consensus on the training requirements and competencies of the evaluators. The working groups has not finished their work yet. However, the global tool is expected to be implemented next year.