Publication of International Pharmacopoeia and WHO Programs

The Expert Committee on the Unification of Pharmacopeias was created in 1947 to continue the work of the League of Nations' International Commission of Pharmacopoeial Experts, under the aegis of the newly established World Health Organization (WHO). Both USP Committee of Revision Chairman E. Fullerton Cook and later Lloyd Miller, USP Director of Revision served on this committee. In 1951, the first edition of the International Pharmacopoeia was published after nearly a century of international debate. The compendia contained monographs for 200 drugs, and nearly 80 percent of its content originated from the USP or British Pharmacopoeia.

In addition, the International Conference on Biological Standardization continued to meet during this period, and the expansion of USP's Reference Standards program led to increased cooperation in the preparation and distribution of WHO Authentic Chemical Substances.