When 11 physicians gathered in the U.S. Senate Chamber in 1820 for the first-ever U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention, they never could have imagined the lasting impact their convening would have. This meeting aimed to solve an urgent problem: widespread inconsistencies in the preparation of medicines that were putting patients at risk. The outcome of the meeting – a compilation of standards to guide the quality of the best-understood medicinal substances of the day – laid the foundation for how USP continues to deliver on its mission today.
Throughout the years, the ecosystem in which USP operates has evolved. Our organization has charted a path that aligns and keeps pace with this rapidly changing landscape, based on the unique depth and range of perspectives available to us. Our progress and impact are optimized by the contributions of our Convention Member Organizations, Expert Volunteers, and stakeholders around the world. Together, they enable us to continue building trust where it matters most: in the quality of the world’s medicines, dietary supplements, and food ingredients.
450+ Members guide USP’s impact
The USP Convention is the foundation upon which our work and our impact are built. Over time it has significantly grown in number of Members and regions represented, reflecting the increasingly global nature of the modern pharmaceutical landscape, as well as USP’s global reach and influence. Today, the USP Convention includes more than 450 Member Organizations, representing nearly 50 countries. The participation of these Member Organizations, which hail from all corners of the health and science ecosystem including science, manufacturing, patient advocacy, government bodies, academia, and other standard-setting organizations, reflects a commitment to USP's focus on quality that patients can trust.
Gathering Convention Member Organizations and hearing these varied perspectives helps bring greater insight and objectivity to USP’s work and guides our efforts through complex and evolving regulatory, manufacturing, and geopolitical environments.
This collaboration also helps inform how USP tackles real-world quality challenges and advocates for strengthening patient access to quality medicine. Member Organizations also work with USP to respond to emerging issues, champion resiliency in the global supply chain, and help broaden USP’s reach by ensuring resources make it to the professional sectors they are meant to serve.
The USP Convention is an unmatched group of Member Organizations both dedicated to their individual pursuits of improving people’s health and collectively committed to USP’s mission. We are deeply grateful for their role in supporting and amplifying our impact.
United by priorities
Convention Members regularly come together for dialogue and information-sharing that helps USP and also provides knowledge, resources, and best practices that inform their own work across different stages of the pharmaceutical supply chain. Regional Chapters and Convention Sectors offer opportunities for Member Organizations to engage and address common priorities. Regional Chapters create a forum for Members from geographic regions facing similar regulatory environments and public health issues to discuss challenges and explore solutions that help protect patients. Convention Sectors convene Members around areas key to USP’s work – such as biologics, innovation, and generic medicines – to collaborate on these focused topics.
Convention Members have worked closely with USP to develop toolkits, infographics, and other materials that help raise awareness, dispel misinformation, or provide information on available treatment options, emerging therapies, and threats that can impact the stability of the medicines supply chain. In times of health emergencies, through Sector and Chapter dialogue, Convention Members also offer expertise and feedback to USP that have enhanced and accelerated our solutions.
USP Convention Meeting
Every five years, the USP Convention Membership comes together to make critical decisions that inform how we can more effectively deliver on our long-term mission of ensuring patients have access to safe, quality medicines during the upcoming five-year cycle.
At this gathering – the USP Convention Meeting – Delegates and others representing Convention Members reflect on our progress and the needs of our stakeholders, participate in crucial dialogue and share information that helps shape our impact and improve patient health. They make important governance decisions that help determine how USP will deliver on its commitment to improve the well-being of billions of people around the world, such as adopting Resolutions and making amendments to our bylaws. They also elect the USP Council of Experts, who lead our standards-setting Committees, and our Board of Trustees. Through the Convention, Member Organizations have the opportunity to share unique perspectives and make their voices heard, amplifying the impact USP has throughout the industry.
A strong future ahead
When broad expertise, deep knowledge and diverse perspectives converge, we can solve bigger challenges and advance more priorities. The USP Convention is proof of this – and a powerful force for protecting patients and consumers.
Guided by the direction of USP's esteemed leadership bodies, which include the Council of the Convention and Convention Membership, the Council of Experts, and the Board of Trustees, USP looks forward to the challenges and opportunities that the next five years will bring. Our commitment to our mission will persist, especially through the powerful network of the USP Convention. And as the science of medicines, dietary supplements, and food ingredients advances and evolves, USP will keep pace – exploring emerging challenges and delivering innovative solutions for quality products to improve people’s health and protect patient safety.
