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Canada, Mexico and United States Sign Charter

The Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Mark B. McClellan, Assistant Deputy Minister of Canada's Health Products and Food Branch (HPFB) Diane Gorman, and the Federal Commissioner of Mexico's Federal Commission for the Protection from Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) Ernesto Enriquez Rubio today announced the signing of the Trilateral Cooperation Charter.

The purpose and mission of the charter is to increase communication, collaboration, and the exchange of information among the three countries in the areas of drugs, biologics, medical devices, food safety, and nutrition. Through collaboration and information sharing on issues of mutual interest, all three countries will work together more closely to protect and promote the public health of all people in North America.

"Advancing and protecting the public health is this agency's mission," said FDA Commissioner Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D. "Today's agreement is the culmination of years of hard work with our colleagues from Canada and Mexico, and today's agreement demonstrates our mutual dedication toward achieving that goal on our shared continent."

"This Charter is important in supporting the establishment of greater links between our three countries," said HPFB Assistant Deputy Minister Diane Gorman. "Participation ensures that all countries share information and work closely together to better protect, promote, and advance human health among our residents and our neighbors."

"This Charter is the sum of all the efforts of three countries fully committed to the protection of their population's health," said Federal Commissioner Ernesto Enriquez Rubio.

The Trilateral Cooperation serves the mutual interests of all three countries and provides a forum and a framework for participants to discuss effective means for achieving their shared public health mission. The Trilateral Cooperation establishes Working Groups, headed by three co-chairs representing each country, and the co-chairs are responsible for identifying issues for discussion and for seeking committee support.

Some of the current working groups included under the Cooperation are the:

• Canada-US-Mexico Compliance Information Group. Purpose is to increase the exchange of emergency preparedness and response, compliance and enforcement information between the three countries.
• Mexico-US-Canada Health Fraud Group. Purpose is to maintain a formal framework for cooperation in combating health fraud and to identify appropriate lines of communication to ensure a continual exchange of information on compliance and enforcement activities.
• Laboratory Cooperation Working Group. Purpose is to establish and maintain cooperation in the area of regulatory laboratory operations.

The new charter, which is available on-line at http://www.fda.gov/oia/charter.html takes effect immediately.

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