Pharmaceutical Industry Acronyms 2024

The pharmaceutical industry is full of acronyms, so in this article, we've highlighted some of the most commonly used acronyms along with their definitions to help you navigate this ever-evolving industry.

A

• AABB - American Association of Blood Banks
• AACP - American College of Clinical Pharmacology
• AAMC - Association of American Medical Colleges
• AAPP - American Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians
• AAPS - American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists
• ABP - Association Pharmaceutique Belge
• ABPI - Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry

B

• BARQA - British Association of Research Quality Assurance
• BDPA - Bureau of Drug Policy and Administration (China)
• BIRA - British Institute of Regulatory Affairs
• BrAPP - British Association of Pharmaceutical Physicians

C

• CAPRA - Canadian Association of Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs
• CNS - Central Nervous System
• CPM - Clinical Project Manager
• CPMP - Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products
• CRA - Clinical Research Associate
• CRF - Case Report Form
• CRO - Contract Research Organization
• CSM - Committee on Safety of Medicines

D

• DBDD - Double Blind Double Dummy

E

• EMA - European Medicines Agency (Added in 2024)
• EMEA - Europe Middle East and Africa

F

• FDA - Food and Drug Administration
• FCPA - Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

G

• GCP - Good Clinical Practice (Added in 2024)
• GI - Gastrointestinal
• GMP - Good Manufacturing Practice

H

• HCP - Healthcare Professional (Added in 2024)

I

• ICH - International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (Added in 2024)
• IDB - Investigational Drug Branch

M

• MAA - Marketing Authorisation Application
• MHRA - Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency

N

• NCE - New Chemical Entity
• NICE - National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

P

• PMS - Post-Marketing Surveillance
• PPRS - Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme

Q

• QA - Quality Assurance
• QC - Quality Control

R

• R&D - Research and Development

S

• SAE - Serious Adverse Event
• SCRA - Senior Clinical Research Associate

T

• TGA - Therapeutic Goods Administration (Added in 2024)

Article updated April 2024.