ASQ – Pharmaceutical GMP Professional Certification

The ASQ’s CPGP certification is a very broad body of knowledge that covers regulatory agencies, to facilities and utilities, to testing, to release. In short, about every aspect of a GMP facility.

I am maybe the only person I know in the field who has this certification. I don’t know the details, but uptake does not seem as high as other certifications I am aware of. Yesterday at lunch I ended up discussing this with a few colleagues. We discussed a few options:

1. The certification is not well known. Most of my colleagues were not aware of it.
2. Many pharmaceutical GMP professionals are more directed at the PDA and ISPE. The ASQ is well known, but perhaps not as important when considering options.
3. This certification is a generalist. There was a general opinion that many quality professionals tend to be specialized and might not feel comfortable stretching their wings.

Is there value in this BoK? Definitely. I found this certification much harder than the CMQ/OE, and as a result, I’m prouder of having it. The major question is how can we make this more valuable to the field. This is certainly a question I’ll be asking next week in Seattle.