Quamed

14/02/2026

Big news for our network! We’re delighted to welcome GOAL USA as a new Associative Member of QUAMED

GOAL USA’s commitment to delivering quality health services in crisis-affected settings resonates strongly with our mission to promote safe, effective, and quality-assured medical products worldwide. Together, we strengthen responsible procurement and reinforce trust in humanitarian supply chains.

Join us in giving GOAL USA a warm welcome!

Discover our members & partners: https://quamed.org/members-partners/

11/02/2026

We’re excited to welcome GOAL USA as a new subscriber to the QUAMED Database. Their commitment to delivering quality health services in fragile and crisis-affected settings aligns strongly with our mission to promote safe, effective, and quality-assured medical products worldwide.

By joining the QUAMED Database community, GOAL USA strengthens informed, responsible procurement while increasing visibility for audited suppliers who invest in quality. Together, we continue building a trusted network that puts patients first.
Explore the QUAMED Database here:
https://database.quamed.org/

09/02/2026

More than a year and a half since AVENZA was awarded the QUAMED GMP QCP certificate on 10 July 2024, acknowledging a clear and ongoing dedication to quality and reliability. A reminder that quality is built through long-term commitment and daily practice. We encourage all of our members and partners to trust AVENZA’s manufacturing processes and to add them to their list of trusted suppliers.

06/02/2026

We’re delighted to welcome International Medical Corps to the QUAMED network as a Member Organisation. Their long-standing commitment to strengthening health systems and ensuring access to quality healthcare aligns closely with QUAMED’s mission to promote safe, effective, and quality medical products. We look forward to meaningful collaboration, shared learning, and the collective impact this partnership will bring.

05/02/2026

We’re proud to see the QUAMED Database continue to grow, now with International Medical Corps and Malteser International among our subscribers. The Database brings together all information collected during QUAMED audits, from medicine manufacturers and distributors, and quality assessments aligned with WHO standards. As more humanitarian actors join, audited suppliers gain greater visibility and recognition for their quality commitment. Access is granted through a simple application process, under strict non-profit conditions, to ensure this critical information serves its true purpose: protecting patients and strengthening humanitarian supply chains. Interested in accessing or being featured in the QUAMED Database? Join a trusted, global quality network: https://quamed.org/database/

Trusted by humanitarian and global health actors: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, International Rescue Committee, Médecins Sans Frontières / MSF (International Office), UNICEF Supply Division, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, World Health Organization (WHO), the Children, Medair, ALIMA, Concern Worldwide, Première Urgence Internationale, Terre des Hommes, and more.

The mutualisation of information being our creed, the Quamed Database works in a collaborative mode. Thus each member is asked to participate actively, so that this tool that we make available is the most profitable possible, and that it allows to ensure an optimization of access to quality medicine...

05/02/2026

The following message is courtesy of Dr Raffaella Ravinetto, Public Health Department, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Belgium.

Dear Friends,

I am happy to forward this message from Elizabeth Pisani and the STARmeds research group! It will be of great interest for all those who work in pharmaceutical policies and systems, with particular focus on research related to quality and pricing of medicines. Have a nice reading!

Raffaella
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The final planned paper from STARmeds group has just been published (attachedI, this one a (I think unusual) kiss-and-tell of the mistakes we made in amoxicillin quality testing, and what we learned from it.

I take the opportunity to post links to all the papers published from this collaboration, led by Univeritas Pancasila in Jakarta (and kindly funded by UK taxpayers, whom we thank). See all links with a short explanation here below.
I also draw attention to the full, sample level dataset, which is available for download and reuse, along with metadata in English and Indonesian, and very detailed methods. It includes all assay, dissolution and uniformity test results, as well as prices and other details (included meds are amoxicillin, cefixime, amlodipine, allopurinol and dexamethasone). We encourage you and your students to use the data for your own, to answer all the interesting questions that we either didn’t think of, or didn’t have time for. Please tell us what you find!
Our main findings, and associated papers (in embedded links in the headlines) include: 1. Are quality medicines affordable? Evidence from a large survey of medicine price and quality in Indonesia: The cheapest medicines are just as likely to pass assay, dissolution and uniformity of assay tests as the most expensive brands/versions of the same product 2. Are quality medicines affordable? Evidence from a large survey of medicine price and quality in Indonesia: For some medicines, the most expensive brand we found was priced at over 100 times the cheapest. Prices often varied three or four-fold for the very same brand, depending on the outlet. However, affordable options were always available, even in remote rural areas. 3. A randomised survey of the quality of antibiotics and other essential medicines in Indonesia, with volume-adjusted estimates of the prevalence of substandard medicines | PLOS Global Public Health: Because they deliberately seek out a variety of brands, samples taken for studies are rarely representative. Weighting results by market size of different brands or manufacturers affects results dramatically; in our survey it slashed prevalence estimates by 47%. In Indonesia, bad medicines don’t sell well. 4. chrome-extensio://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12709451/pdf/BLT.24.292994.pdf (copy-paste the link in your browser to open it): Because of a missing flask size, we made an error in early testing of amoxicillin; we suspect others have done the same, possibly affecting results of other published studies. 5. Full article: On paper; in practice: measuring compliance with official pricing policies in a large field study of essential medicines in Indonesia: Though Indonesia has elaborate rules to cap prices of unbranded generics and to introduce transparency for branded medicines, these are regularly ignored or flouted, especially by hospitals. 6. Value for money of medicine sampling and quality testing: evidence from Indonesia | BMJ Global Health: Surveillance based on random sampling from the market is expensive. Random sampling may be useful in markets with very high prevalence of poor quality medicines. However in Indonesia, where prevalence is low and most essential medicines are made domestically, the regulator may achieve the same goals more cost-effectively by investing more in oversight of production.
7. Making intersectoral stakeholder engagement in medicine quality research work: lessons from the STARmeds study in Indonesia: Researchers should engage with policy audiences from the planning stages of their work. It’s hard work, but ultimately worthwhile,
While I have your attention, data from a similar but smaller study of cardiovascular drug quality are also available.

Elizabeth & STARmeds

29/01/2026

Millions still lack access to life-saving medicines, not because science failed, but because patents, prices, and politics get in the way. This deep dive unpacks how countries have used (and sometimes avoided) TRIPS flexibilities over the past 25 years to break monopolies, enable generics, and respond to crises from HIV to COVID-19 and cancer. With rising drug prices and shrinking global health funding, these tools matter more than ever. Worth the read if access, equity, and medicine quality concern you.

Read more: https://gh.bmj.com/content/11/1/e021481

This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.

27/01/2026

The EU Parliament has approved the Critical Medicines Act to secure Europe’s medicine supply, a major step with global implications. While it aims to protect patients in Europe, experts warn that it could impact the availability of medicine, prices, and local pharmaceutical production in Africa. What does “health sovereignty” in Europe mean for global health equity? This article unpacks the stakes and the unanswered questions. Worth a read.

The European Parliament backed the EU's Critical Medicines Act (CMA) on Tuesday in a decisive move to secure Europe’s pharmaceutical supply chains from geopolitical shocks.

24/01/2026

In Damascus this week with colleagues from the European Union and the وزارة الصحة السورية, visiting the national quality control laboratory.

This EU-funded mission is part of a broader effort to support the Syrian pharmaceutical sector, strengthen local capacities, and ultimately improve access to safe, effective, and quality medicines.

A valuable moment of collaboration, learning, and shared commitment to public health.

Thanks to COAR Global and Hera

20/01/2026

The following message is courtesy of Dr Raffaella Ravinetto, Public Health Department, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Belgium.

Ref M Lambert, S Aljadeeah, N Nasir, F Sila, L Lopes, C Llor. Reducing antibiotic exposure to combat antimicrobial resistance: rethinking use, packaging, and dispensing practices. The Lancet Primary Care, 2025, 100084, https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanprc/article/PIIS3050-5143(25)00084-6/fulltext

Dear Friends,

Today I would like to share an open access Viewpoint authored, among others, by my colleague Saleh Aljadeeah in The Lancet Primary Care.

After framing the global health threat represented by AMR in the broader context of structural inequities, weak regulatory systems, and low access to care in LMICs, the authors discuss the possible strategies to reduce unnecessary antibiotic exposure.

These include, but are not limited to, optimizing antibiotic treatment via evidence-based shorter antibiotic courses; addressing barriers to treatment adherence, via patient-centred approaches; correcting context-related determinants of poor adherence, such as poor diagnostic infrastructure, limited access/affordability, and weak supply chain etc.; reducing unregulated use of leftovers, by reforming antibiotics packaging and adopting exact-dose dispensing; reducing antibiotics use without prescription and combating substandard and falsified antibiotics. The latter requires addressing the underlying causes, by strengthening regulation and healthcare access, expanding universal health coverage, and making rapid diagnostic tests affordable.

Reading the full text clearly shows that efficiently combating and preventing AMR to preserve antibiotic effectiveness for future generations. requires integrated strategies that address systemic barriers, including the social determinants of poor use.

Have a nice reading,

Raffaella

20/01/2026

What happens when a medical product can’t be traced back to its source? Patient safety is put at risk. Join the Peer Learning Certificate on Traceability in Health Supply Chains, a free, four-week, discussion-led program designed for professionals working across health product supply chains. Through short learning summaries, real-world case studies, and guided peer discussions, you’ll explore why traceability matters, how stakeholders respond, and how digital tools help prevent substandard and falsified medicines. Learn alongside peers from Africa and beyond, and earn a free certificate upon completion.

Program shared by Sanjay Saha
Register today:

Learning & Networking

15/01/2026

Quamed supported the delivery of an in-country Good Storage and Distribution Practices (GSDP) workshop in partnership with SEARN (South-East Asia Regulatory Network) and WHO, which built on prerequisite online courses (https://learning.quamed.org/) and regional virtual sessions.

The workshop aimed to strengthen the practical capacity of mid-level and junior inspectors to plan, conduct, and report regulatory inspections in line with WHO GSDP guidance. This included training, coached inspections, and inspection report reviews. Through a hands-on approach, our experts, Solomon Onen and MUHAMMAD LUKWAGO, enabled participants to apply practical inspection skills and risk-based methodologies.

Coached inspections were conducted with the support of our experts at wholesaler sites identified by the host NRAs. Up to ten participants from the Maldives (Maldives Food and Drug Authority MFDA) and Bangladesh NRAs (Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA)) attended these coached inspections to maximise learning impact.

This is a strong example of how practical, risk-based capacity building can strengthen regulatory oversight and improve supply chain quality.