Facilitating Kazakhstan's entry into the OECD on GLP

Representatives of the National Accreditation Center Committee for Technical Regulation and Metrology of the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, who are inspectors for monitoring compliance with the principles of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) in Kazakhstan, represented the country at the 37th meeting of the OECD GLP working group, held on March 14-15 in Maryland, USA.

In total, about 100 representatives from 38 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development took part in the meeting.

GLP inspectors of the National Accreditation Center told about the work done on the integration of Kazakhstan into this organization in the year after the 36th meeting.

– The OECD GLP Working Group meets annually in March or April, – the NAC GLP inspectors say, - and each time the participants are provided with a report on inspections and audits of studies conducted in OECD countries on compliance with the principles of good laboratory practice. After that, the GLP certificates of these testing centers are recognized, and the free movement of research results begins in all 38 OECD GLP member countries.

Considering that the OECD unites economically developed countries with free market economies, which account for about 2/3 of goods and services in the world, mutual recognition of accredited laboratory tests between them greatly simplifies international trade, removes technical barriers, increases consistency and confidence in the movement of goods and services.

The NAC is making continuous and systematic efforts to promote the principles of good laboratory practice in order to join the OECD GLP. So, in 2020, for the first time, the NAC participated in a similar meeting by invitation without status; in 2021 – as an observer; in 2022 – to confirm commitment to the principles of GLP.

The main outcome of participation in the 37th meeting was the consideration by the OECD of the possibility of joining the NAC to the IAD - an Agreement on Mutual Recognition of the Results of Experimental Evaluation of Chemicals Based on the Principles of Good Laboratory Practice, which is the last step before being accepted into the OECD GLP.

According to the NAC GLP inspectors, over the past year Kazakhstan has formed the necessary base of potential testing centers for monitoring compliance with the GLP principles with the participation of national and international inspectors in order to subsequently join the OECD GLP. The NAC will make every effort to pass this assessment.