The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for the oversight and enforcement of compliance with regulations addressing the safety, efficacy, and potency of drugs (as well as all medical devices & biological drugs).
FDA sends its auditors to every drug manufacturer in the US at least once every 2 years.
They send auditors to foreign manufacturers who supply US drugs whenever they get around to it. 80% of our drug materials are made overseas.
I can personally vouch for the fact that the oversight of the FDA and their power to terminate licenses at will on zero notice quite sincerely does drive compliance with their regulations.
The 2007 congressional appropriation for this agency was $1.58 million dollars.
$1.57M is less than 3/4 of the budget for the county school district where FDA's headquarters is located.
$1.57M is approximately the projected cost of the Sarah Palin commemorative 'Bridge to Nowhere'. -Playing "Kick the FDA" - Risk Free to Players but Hazardous to Public Health, Alastair J.J. Wood, New England Journal of Medicine, vol 385, no. 17, 4/28/08
So the next time people start dropping dead from bad Vioxx or heparin or toothpaste made with anti-freeze labeled as sugar syrup, Congress needs to be added to the whipping boy list.
Europa Clipper
2 days ago
1 comment:
I guess those drugs from Canada aren't so bad after all, huh? Now I'll be very skeptical of any claims that the cheaper Canadian drugs aren't safe. Heck, if they're safe for our northern neighbors, they're safe for us, right?
And Americans act as if no one else in the world regulates pharmaceuticals and checks them to insure they're safe. It borders on snobbery. It's not like if I were living in Austria or England I'd refuse medications because they're not American.... Or insist on only American medications!
Post a Comment