ESCOP was founded in June 1989 as an umbrella organisation representing national phytotherapy or herbal medicine associations across Europe, especially in their discussions with European medicines regulators. Since 1996 it has been based in the United Kingdom as a company limited by guarantee. ESCOP has the following Aims and Objectives:
Aims:
to advance the scientific status of herbal medicinal products and to assist with the harmonisation of their regulatory status at the European level.
Objectives:
to develop a coordinated scientific framework to assess herbal medicinal products;
to promote the acceptance of herbal medicinal products, especially within general medical practice;
to support and initiate clinical and experimental research in phytotherapy;
to improve and extend the international accumulation of scientific and practical knowledge in the field of phytotherapy;
to support all appropriate measures that will secure optimum protection for those who use herbal medicinal products;
to produce reference monographs on the therapeutic use of plant drugs;
to further cooperation among national associations of phytotherapy to advance these Aims and Objectives.
