Pharmacopeial Discussion Group

Periodic discussions among the EP, JP, and USP, with the World Health Organization as observer, facilitate compendial harmonization. This association is known as the Pharmacopeial Discussion Group (PDG). The PDG has prioritized the harmonization effort for individual general test chapters based originally on those identified within ICH Q6A (1). Dissolution is prominent on the PDG work agenda. 

Founded in Tokyo in September 1989 as the Quadripartite Group, the Pharmacopeial Discussion Group (PDG) was originally composed of representatives of the British, European, Japanese, and U.S. Pharmacopeias. The current group includes members from the European, Japanese, and United States Pharmacopeias. At its first meeting at USP headquarters in Rockville, MD, in March 1990, important agreements were reached ... 

Appendix—Working Procedures of the Pharmacopeial Discussion Group (PDG)... 

Pharmacopeial discussion group. Policies for harmonization of the three pharmacopeias. Japanese Pharmacopeial Eomm 1995, 4 (4), 65-67. 

Two organizations account for harmonization of new and revised standards the Pharmacopeial Discussion Group (PDG) and the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH). Primary impact is attributed in this cycle again to the PDG consisting of the USP with the Japanese and European pharmacopeias. Joint open conferences held on an international basis were crucial to any progress here because these ensured direct contact among experts from the three pharmacopeias (see Open Conferences and Meetings, earlier). 

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