FDA opens first foreign office in China

The FDA, prompted by increasing concerns about the safety of drugs and drug products imported from other countries, has opened its first foreign office in China, with plans to open others in India, the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America. The FDA says they are doing this to not only keep a closer eye on potentially contaminated products that may come to the U.S., but also to work more closely with the governments of these countries to address the root causes of drug safety problems, and to help them develop ways to ensure that these kinds of problems never happen.

I welcome this move by the FDA. It shows a greater recognition that tainted drugs entering the United States is a serious problem that not only threatens patient health, it also threatens the reputation of drug manufacturers doing business in China and other foreign countries. As I've mentioned in this blog before, I have had several concerned patients at my pharmacy inquire as to the country of origin of the drugs they are receiving, and any positive steps the FDA can take to help alleviate these concerns and assure drug product quality will be welcomed by me. I also believe that establishing these offices will also help foster international cooperation to ensure drug product safety. Being simply a watchdog is not going to be enough, we need to be willing to share our expertise with other countries to ensure proper safety measures are being met, which will also help with drug product safety in the other countries as well.

Young children, old arteries

I found this article today on MSNBC.com talking about some surprising findings in obese children. To me, reading an article like this further underscores the problems we have concerning obesity in this country, and that parents of obese children need to take more responsibility for the health of their children by getting them into exercise programs. Not only will this get young people in the habit of exercising on a regular basis, but it will also dramatically improve their long-term cardiovascular health. We know that it is easiest to teach people good habits when they are younger, and so I think it is extremely important that children learn healthy habits as young as possible, and that parents take the time to educate themselves about providing proper nutrition and exercise for their kids. If we take this seriously as a nation, we can reverse the disturbing trends toward obesity that we are seeing in this country, and in the process save our health care system billions of dollars by preventing obesity-related health problems.

More contaminated heparin, will an Obama FDA help?

I found a couple articles that I wanted to share with you all today. The first is about another batch of contaminated heparin seized by the FDA, and the second speculates that the incoming Obama administration will give the FDA more oversight power. I think this is an important issue, because with more and more drugs being manufactured in China, our patients need to be assured that the drugs they are taking are going to be safe. I have had several people ask me at the pharmacy where the drugs they are taking come from. Luckily, I have not encountered any made in China, but I understand the patients' concerns. Hopefully President-elect Obama will allow the FDA to conduct stronger oversight of imported medications, to ensure the safety of our patients and to assure them that all drugs imported from other countries are pure and safe.