March 28, 2024

Easily Look Up Terms Defined in the GLPs with the GLP Definitions Browser

In my day-to-day work as a GLP consultant, I often find myself reaching for a formal definition of some term from the GLPs. This can be useful when I want to explain a concept, reference the definition, or verify the exact wording. I wanted to be able to go to one place to easily search these definitions. So I built a GLP definitions browser. It’s freely available for anyone to use, and you can find it at:

https://readtheregs.com/glp/define

Here’s a video of it in action:

The GLP Definitions browser has all of the formal definitions from the main OECD, FDA and EPA GLPs. Specifically, this includes the documents OECD Principles of Good Laboratory Practice #1, 21CFR Part 58, and 40CFR Parts 160 and 792).

There is a simple search and filter mechanism so you can quickly find exactly what you’re looking for:

Example: Using the search and filter mechanism to find all dates defined in the OECD GLPs

Because there are often differences in terminology between the various GLPs, I built in support for synonyms. For example, clicking on Experimental Start Date will list the EPA definitions as well as the OECD definition for Experimental Starting Date:

Definitions for Experimental Start Date (TSCA, FIFRA) showing synonyms from the other GLPs and related terms.

Along with synonyms, links to related terms are also given. For example, you can see above that the Experimental Termination Date is given as a related term for the EPA definitions, while in the OECD definition a link to the Experimental Completion Date is suggested instead.

You can even link directly to any given definition by typing in the term at the end of the URL, replacing any spaces with dashes. For example, linking directly to https://readtheregs.com/glp/define/study-plan gives you:

The OECD GLP definition for Study Plan, showing a link to the synonyms "Protocol" from the FDA and EPA GLPs.

There is more to come, including added definitions from related topics such as Part 11 and the CSV guidance.

So give it a try today and look up a GLP definition.

Brendan Hyland

I'm a computer geek, foodie, and father of two. Professionally, I’m a Registered Quality Assurance Professional (RQAP-GLP) and have spent most of my career writing SOPs and designing, implementing and maintaining quality system components for GLP laboratories. I’m also a programmer with a love for strictly-typed functional programming languages. I have developed and validated software systems and tools for data analysis, document control and workflows.

View all posts by Brendan Hyland →

2 thoughts on “Easily Look Up Terms Defined in the GLPs with the GLP Definitions Browser

    1. Hi Eric, thanks for reaching out!

      Yes, Canada follows the OECD Principles of GLP and both the Definitions Browser and ReadTheRegs have the main OECD GLP document (#1 in the series) covered. The Pro version of Read the Regs also has several of the other OECD guidance documents as well, with more to come. I hadn’t considered including the Canadian regulatory directives for GLP as mainly just point to the OECDs. They do provide some specific requirements for records retention, so I may consider that for a future release if there’s demand for it.

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