// January 23, 2020

The Future is Digital: Our last printed USP–NF

As we approach our 200th anniversary year in 2020, I am proud to announce a major milestone in USP’s publication history, the conclusion of the USP–NF printed product.

USP-NF Photo

Nearly 200 years ago, a group of physicians, concerned about the quality and consistency of medicines, published the first United States Pharmacopeia (USP), which contained formulas for the preparation of 217 drugs considered to be the “most fully established and best understood” at the time. We’ve come a long way since then. Now, the USP-NF contains more than 8,000 public standards, general chapters and reagents that help ensure the quality, safety, and benefit of medicines.

We have been preparing for the conclusion of the printed USP-NF for quite some time and this was certainly an all-hands-on-deck effort. From building a robust USP-NF online experience for our users, to enabling customized dashboards and notifications, to feature and enhancement requests via stakeholder engagements, we are continually responding to user needs and adding functionality that will enable our users to maximize their online experience with the USP-NF. The First Supplement to USP43–NF38, which will be published on February 1, 2020, will only be available online at USPNF.com and will be the only source for all current USP–NF content.

Screenshot of USP-NF Online

Over the past several months, page view counts for the USP-NF have continued to exceed monthly records. Average monthly page views have surpassed 1.5 million, and we anticipate this number will continue to grow. We are also excited about the key analytics that will allow us to better customize user experiences, make it easier for stakeholders to access our top resources, and enable better engagement with our industry partners through key insights on the public quality standards they use most often. As I shared in my Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) keynote earlier this week, USP has invested in tools like the USP-NF Online to make maximize industry’s ability to engage and partner with us to increase access to quality medicines.

I am eager to welcome our 200th anniversary year and convention meeting. I look forward to celebrating our unique history, our many important milestones, and to sharing our 2025 strategy and vision for USP’s impact on the quality of medicines around the world.