China announces massive drug safety spend

The Chinese government has announced a $1.7 billion upgrade of the country's food and drug safety monitoring capacity, as part of a major effort to bolster China's recently-tarnished reputation (Marketletters passim). A spokesman for the State Food and Drug Administration told a press conference in Beijing that the funds would be directed at infrastructure improvements over the next three-to-five years, Drug Researcher.com reported.

The Shanghai Daily reported specific details of the spending, including: a new headquarters for the National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products; the refurbishment and modernization of 16 drug control centers; and an improved monitoring system for adverse events involving drugs.

With recent problems being investigated by the US Food and Drug Administration, not only in the USA but also in Panama, as well as noting the importance of the US market for Chinese exports, closer ties are being urged between Chinese regulators and their US counterparts. The US federal government recently issued a request for speedier cooperation in the formulation and enforcement of safety standards for food and drugs (Marketletter August 6).