Germany joined the U.S.-EU mutual recognition agreement for GMP inspections after the FDA confirmed its capability to carry out inspections at a level equivalent to the U.S.

The arrangement will help reduce the administrative burden and costs from duplicative inspections and will allow countries to focus their inspection efforts on other countries that produce drugs and APIs for the U.S. and EU markets.

The countries hope the pact will improve their ability to identify and address potential problems at manufacturing sites before they become a public health risk.