FDA's Foreign Inspection Budget Lean

[rodeodance]

Source: wpost



FDA's Foreign Inspection Budget Lean

By Marc Kaufman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 1, 2007; Page A02

Although the volume of prescription drugs and drug ingredients coming into the country from foreign manufacturers in developing nations such as India and China has exploded in recent years, the Food and Drug Administration's budget for foreign inspections has not kept pace and will be lower in 2008 than it was in 2002, according to congressional investigators.

As a result, foreign drug and drug ingredient makers are inspected on average once every eight to 12 years, while American-based manufacturers must be inspected at least once every two years.


In addition, the investigators reported, FDA officials generally do not bring their own translators, and so in countries such as China they rely on company-supplied translators to conduct inspections. They also have to tell foreign manufacturers in advance that they are coming, while FDA inspectors can go into American plants at any time unannounced.
..........

"China alone has more than 700 firms making drug products for the U.S., yet the FDA has resources to conduct only about 20 inspections a year in China," he said. "This is dangerously inadequate."

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/31/AR2007103102669.html?hpid=topnews

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recall the big fuss Repugs made over people NOT getting drugs from Canada and abroad?-----
now we get them from china!

[tanyev]

1. It's OK. Think how much safer we are because we can't bring fluids on an airplane.