Groups of experts- and working parties under the EDQM

Updated 09 July 2025

The work in the expert groups and working parties 

There are 21 groups of experts and 40 working parties under the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.). Their members are various national independent scientific experts and ad hoc specialists from

  • national authorities (including official medicines control laboratories, licensing authorities and inspectors),
  • the private sector (pharmaceutical, chemical or biological industries),
  • universities and other research institutions.
  • A secretary from EDQM and representatives from the EDQM’s laboratory also participate.

The groups and parties work with the elaboration and revision of the texts and monographs for the Ph. Eur. The groups of experts cover the general scientific aspects relevant for controlling the quality of medicines and the raw materials used. Many of the groups of experts therefore work with development and modernisation of analytical methods for quality control of medicines and raw materials. 

Whereas the groups of experts are permanent, the working parties are appointed for a defined period to work in-depth with specific aspects or subjects related to the areas covered by the groups of experts. The contributions from the many groups of experts and working parties and the involvement of national experts are essential to the continued elaboration and revision of the Ph. Eur.

The amount of time to allocate for the expert work very much depends on the group of experts or working party being joined. The most active groups of experts usually hold 3 annual meetings of 1,5 days. The workload in between meetings depends on the level of commitment to the group’s work. Expect to allocate time corresponding to 2 weeks’ work every year. 

The groups of experts and working parties cover the following areas:

Exp. gr. 1: Microbiology

Exp. gr. 6: Biological and Biotechnological products

Exp. gr. 6B: Human Plasma and Plasma Products

Exp. gr. 7: Antibiotics

Exp. gr. 9: Inorganic Chemistry

Exp. gr. 9G: Medicinal Gases

Exp. gr. 10A/B/C/D: Organic chemistry – synthetic and semi-synthetic substances

Exp. gr. 11: Organic chemistry – natural, semi-synthetic and synthetic substances

Exp. gr. 12: Dosage forms and pharmaceutical technical procedures

Exp. gr. 13A/B: Herbal Drugs and Herbal Drug Preparations

Exp. gr. 13H: Fatty oils and derivatives, polymers

Exp. gr. 14: Radiopharmaceutical Preparations

Exp. gr. 15: Human Vaccines and Sera

Exp. gr. 15V: Veterinary Vaccines and Sera

Exp. gr. 16: Plastic materials, plastic containers and closures

Exp. gr. 17: Medicinal products containing chemically defined active substances

Exp. gr. P4: Single-source active substances, excipients and medicinal products with chemically defined active substances

ALG Working Party: Allergens

ALU Working Party: Aluminium in parenteral nutrition solutions

AQbD Working Party:  Analytical quality by design

BACT Working Party:  Bacteriophages

BET Working Party: Bacterial Endotoxin Test

BSR Working Party: Bovine serum

CE Working Party: Capillary Electrophoresis

CEL Working Party: Cellulose

CRB Working Party: Carbohydrates

CST Working Party: Chromatographic separation techniques

CTP Working Party: Cell Therapy Products

DIA Working Party: Dialysis

EDSForm Working Party: European drug shortages Formulary

EXP Working Party: Excipient performance

EXS Working Party:  Excipient Strategy

GLS Working Party: Glass Containers

GTP Working Party: Gene Therapy Products

HMM Working Party: Homoeopathic Manufacturing Methods

HOM Working Party: Homoeopathic Raw Materials and Stocks

HTS Working Party: High Throughput Sequencing for the detection of extraneous agents

INH Working Party: Inhalations

MAB Working Party: Monoclonal Antibodies

MG Working Party: General methods

mRNAVAC Working Party: mRNA Vaccines for human use

MYC Working Party: Mycoplasma

NANO Working Party: Nanomedicines

P4BIO Working Party: P4 Bio (Biologicals) 

PaedF Working Party: European Paediatric Formulary

PAT Working Party: Process Analytical Technology

POW Working Party: Powder Characterisation

PRP Working Party: Precursors for Radiopharmaceutical Preparations

PST Working Party: Pesticide Residues

ROP Working Party:  Rules of Procedure

SDA Working Party: Spectroscopy and Data Analysis

SIT Working Party: Second identification test

ST Working Party: Standard Terms

SUT Working Party: Sutures

TCM Working Party: Traditional Chinese Medicines

VIT Working Party: Vitamins

WAT Working Party: Water

On the website of the EDQM you can read more about the expert work and what you can gain from participating in expert work.

Recruitment of experts

We are currently looking for experts for the expert and working groups to the Ph. Eur. Send your application to npa@dkma.dk by October 1, 2025.

Members of the groups of experts and working parties are nominated by the respective national pharmacopoeia authorities and are subsequently approved and appointed by the European Pharmacopoeia Commission for a period of three years. The next period is from November 2025 to November 2028. When the period expires at the end of November 2028, new and current experts will be (re)nominated for the next three-year period.

The expert's work is unpaid. 

Submission of nominations

Nominations for the appointment of a member (experts and ad hoc specialists) to the various groups of experts and working parties can be submitted by email to the National Pharmacopoeia Authority of the Danish Medicines Agency on npa@dkma.dk.

The proposal must be sent with:

  • A brief and targeted application
  • A CV highlighting the qualifications relevant for the group(s)/working party(ies) applied for.

Information about the requested qualifications for the individual expert groups and working parties is provided in the "Terms of Reference and Profile for Members of Groups of Experts and Working Parties".