pharmaceutical inspection convention and pharmaceutical inspection co-operation scheme pharmaceutical inspection convention and pharmaceutical inspection co-operation scheme the pharmaceutical inspection convention and pharmaceutical inspection co-operation scheme (pic/s) are two international instruments between countries and pharmaceutical inspection authorities. the pic/s is meant as an instrument to improve co-operation in the field of good manufacturing practices between regulatory authorities and the pharmaceutical industry. pharmaceutical inspection convention and pharmaceutical inspection co-operation schemelogo of the pharmaceutical inspection convention and pharmaceutical inspection co-operation schemeabbreviationpic/sformation26 may 1971 (1971-05-26)typeintergovernmental organizationpurposepharmaceuticalheadquartersgeneva, switzerlandcoordinates46.2050823°n 6.158363°e﻿ / 46.2050823; 6.158363area served internationalmembership 52 active state memberswebsitewww.picscheme.org history the pic (pharmaceutical inspection convention) was founded in october 1970 by the european free trade association (efta), under the title of the convention for the mutual recognition of inspections in respect of the manufacture of pharmaceutical products. the initial members comprised the 10 member countries of efta at that time. in the early 1990s it was realized that because of an incompatibility between the convention and european law, it was not possible for new countries to be admitted as members of pic. european law did not permit individual eu countries that were members of pic to sign agreements with other countries seeking to join pic. as a consequence the pharmaceutical inspection co-operation scheme was formed on 2 november 1995. the pharmaceutical inspection co-operation scheme is an informal agreement between health authorities instead of a formal treaty between countries. pic and the pic scheme, which operate together in parallel, are jointly referred to as pic/s. pic/s became operational in november 1995. since its conception until 2003, pic/s did not have a distinct legal identity. its secretariat was provided by the european free trade association. based on pic/s meeting in june 2003, its committee decided to constitute itself as a swiss association in accordance with article 60 of the swiss civil code which refer to other internationally active organizations established in switzerland such as the international committee of the red cross (icrc). on 1 january 2004, pic/s established its own secretariat in geneva, switzerland. purpose pic/s has a number of provisions intended to establish the following: mutual recognition of inspection between member countries, so that an inspection carried out by officials of one member country will be recognized as valid by other members. equivalent principles of inspection methodology, so that it is understood that inspectors in each member country will be following the same best practices when carrying out inspections. mechanisms for the training of inspectors. harmonization of written standards of good manufacturing practices. lines of communication between member country inspectors/inspectorates. members map of the members of pic/s the following are the state members of pic/s as of october 2021: countryparticipating entityaccession to pic scheme argentinanational institute of drugsinstituto nacional de medicamentos (iname)2008 australiatherapeutic goods administration (tga)1995 austriafederal office for safety in health carebundesamt für sicherheit im gesundheitswesen (basg)1999 belgiumfederal agency for medicines and health productsagence fédérale des médicaments et des produits de santé (afmps)federaal agentschap voor geneesmiddelen en gezondheidsproducten (fagg)1997 brazilnational health surveillance agencyagência nacional de vigilância sanitária (anvisa)2021 canadahealth canada's regulatory operations and enforcement branch (roeb)santé canada direction générale des opérations réglementaires et de l'application de la loi (dgoral)1999 chinese taipeifood and drug administration (tfda)2013 croatiaagency for medicinal products and medical devices of croatiaagencija za lijekove i medicinske proizvode (halmed)2016 cypruspharmaceutical services (cyphs)2008 czech republicstate institute for drug controlstátní ústav pro kontrolu léčiv (súkl)institute for state control of veterinary biologicals and medicines (iscvbm)19972005 denmarkdanish medicines agency (dkma)1995 estoniastate agency of medicines (sam)2007 finlandfinnish medicines agency (fimea)1996 francefrench national agency for medicines and health products safetyagence nationale de sécurité du médicament et des produits de santé (ansm)agency for food, environmental & occupational health safetyagence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (anses)19972009 germanycentral authority of the laender for health protection regarding medicinal products and medical deviceszentralstelle der länder für gesundheitsschutz bei arzneimitteln und medizinprodukten (zlg)2000 greecegreek national organisation for medicinesεθνικός οργανισμός φαρμάκων (eof)2002 hong kong sarpharmacy and poisons board of hong kong (ppbhk)2016 hungarynational institute of pharmacy and nutrition (ogyéi)1995 icelandicelandic medicines agency (ima)1995 indonesianational agency for drug and food control (nadfc)badan pengawas obat dan makanan republik indonesia (bpom)2012 iraniran food and drug administration (ifda)2018 irelandhealth products regulatory authority (hpra)1996 israelinstitute for standardization and control of pharmaceuticals (iscp)2009 italyitalian medicines agencyagenzia italiana del farmaco (aifa)directorate general for animal health and veterinary medicinal productsdirezione generale della sanità animale e dei farmaci veterinari (dgsaf)20002020 japanpharmaceuticals and medical devices agency (pmda)2014 latviastate agency of medicineszāļu valsts aģentūra (zva)2004 liechtensteinoffice of healthcareamt für gesundheit (ag)1995 lithuaniastate medicines control agency (smca)2009 malaysianational pharmaceutical regulatory agency (npra)bahagian regulatori farmasi negara2002 maltamalta medicines authority (mma)2008 mexicofederal commission for the protection against sanitary riskcomisión federal para la protección contra riesgos sanitarios (cofepris)2018 netherlandshealth and youth care inspectorateinspectie gezondheidszorg en jeugd (igj)1995 new zealandmedicines and medical devices safety authority (medsafe)2013 norwaynorwegian medicines agency (noma)1995 polandchief pharmaceutical inspectorate (cpi)2006 portugalnational authority of medicines and health products, ipautoridade nacional do medicamento e produtos de saúde ip (infarmed ip )1999 romanianational agency for medicines and medical devices (nammd)1995 singaporehealth sciences authority (hsa)2000 slovakiastate institute for drug control (sidc)1997 sloveniaagency for medicinal products and medical devicesjavna agencija republike slovenije za zdravila in medicinske pripomočke (jazmp)2012 south africasouth african health products regulatory authority (sahpra)2007 south koreaministry of food and drug safety (mfds)2014 spainspanish agency of medicines and medical devicesagencia española de medicamentos y productos sanitarios (aemps)1998 swedenswedish medical products agency (mpa)1996 switzerlandswiss agency for therapeutic products (swissmedic)1996 thailandfood and drug administration (thai fda)2016 turkeyturkish medicines and medical devices agency (tmmda)2018 ukrainestate service for medications and drugs control (smdc)2011 united kingdommedicines and healthcare products regulatory agency (mhra) veterinary medicines directorate (vmd)19992014 united statesu.s. food and drug administration (usfda)2011