Introducing GDP-UCI: A New Medicines and Vaccines Reform Program

The GDP Universal Compliance Initiative (GDP-UCI) is an industry-led reform program that is aimed at all companies and organizations that are involved in, or impacted by, the laws surrounding the distribution of medicines and vaccines. Its main focus revolves around facilitating and simplifying adherence to the various pharmaceutical global distribution practice (GDP) regulations and guidelines that exist worldwide, with the objective of making regulatory conformance more consistent, efficient, and risk free.

In essence, GDP-UCI is an industry-wide body, one that is neutral, fully independent, and open to all organizations that are involved in the movement and storage of pharmaceuticals. As a democratically-governed collaborative enterprise, it is free of vested-interests and is not promoting, protecting or controlled by any particular business factions.

According to Alan Kennedy, the program’s executive director, GDP-UCI was not created to rewrite the regulations relating to GDP. Rather, its plans feature the introduction of new ideas for:

a. Achieving, demonstrating and recording GDP compliance.
b. Generating meaningful GDP metrics for comparison, benchmarking and continuous improvement purposes.
c. Creating a more harmonized GDP training environment.

“We invite all pharma companies and their distribution partners to join the GDP-UCI program to work with their peers to address shared GDP issues, drive supply chain efficiencies, improve regulatory compliance, and to safeguard patient safety through continuous improvement,” notes Kennedy.