We are on a journey to make quality medicines affordable to all. In the 21st Century, this journey will be successful to the extent we recognize that quality has to be built-in by design and that it cannot be tested into products, utilize and improve a global Quality Management System (QMS), and implement science based risk assessment in our decision making. Pharmacopoeias are an integral part of this global QMS and have been setting public or market standards for medical products for many centuries. In the 21st Century, Pharmacopoeias can and should be a champion for the practice of quality by design. To do so most effectively it would be useful to recognize how, in the 21st Century, human factors help and hinder optimal development, and correct interpretation, of public or market standards in design, development, control and manufacturing decisions. To explore this aspect in this presentation, cognitive biases – blind spots or alleys – are collected and organized on topics relevant to this workshop: (a) Impurities & Contaminants, (b) Analytical Method Validation, and (c) Public/market standards and Release Testing. How to confront these biases will be discussed. Steps to help in maximally leveraging the Pharmacopoeias on the 21st Century journey will be highlighted.