28 Facts About FDA

1.

FDA's primary focus is enforcement of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, but the agency enforces other laws, notably Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act, as well as associated regulations.

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2.

FDA is led by the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.

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3.

In 2008, the FDA began to post employees to foreign countries, including China, India, Costa Rica, Chile, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.

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4.

Since 1990, the FDA has had employees and facilities on 130 acres of the White Oak Federal Research Center in the White Oak area of Silver Spring, Maryland.

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5.

In 2001, the General Services Administration began new construction on the campus to consolidate the FDA's 25 existing operations in the Washington metropolitan area, its headquarters in Rockville, and several fragmented office buildings.

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6.

FDA has a number of field offices across the United States, in addition to international locations in China, India, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America.

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7.

In June 2018, the FDA released a statement regarding new guidelines to help food and drug manufacturers "implement protections against potential attacks on the U S food supply".

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8.

Pursuant to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and accompanying legislation, the FDA has authority to oversee the quality of substances sold as food in the United States, and to monitor claims made in the labeling of both the composition and the health benefits of foods.

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9.

Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, the FDA is responsible for ensuring that manufacturers and distributors of dietary supplements and dietary ingredients meet the current requirements.

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10.

FDA has a "Dietary Supplement Ingredient Advisory List" that includes ingredients that sometimes appear on dietary supplements but need further evaluation further.

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11.

Critics argue that the FDA standards are not sufficiently rigorous, allowing unsafe or ineffective drugs to be approved.

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12.

The FDA receives directly adverse drug event reports through its MedWatch program.

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13.

In some cases, the FDA requires risk management plans called Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies for some drugs that require actions to be taken to ensure that the drug is used safely.

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14.

When its application to manufacture generics were subjected to repeated delays by the FDA, Mylan, convinced that it was being discriminated against, soon began its own private investigation of the agency in 1987.

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15.

In 2014, the FDA added an Ebola treatment being developed by Canadian pharmaceutical company Tekmira to the Fast Track program, but halted the phase 1 trials in July pending the receipt of more information about how the drug works.

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16.

However, all color additives must be specifically FDA approved before manufacturers can include them in cosmetic products sold in the U S The FDA regulates cosmetics labeling, and cosmetics that have not been safety tested must bear a warning to that effect.

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17.

In July 2017, the FDA announced a plan that would reduce the current levels of nicotine permitted in tobacco cigarettes.

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18.

In June 2004, the FDA cleared Hirudo medicinalis as the second living organism to be used as a medical device.

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19.

The FDA targeted 465 websites that illegally sold potentially dangerous, unapproved versions of opioid, oncology, and antiviral prescription drugs to U S consumers.

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20.

FDA carries out research and development activities to develop technology and standards that support its regulatory role, with the objective of resolving scientific and technical challenges before they become impediments.

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21.

FDA has collected a large amount of data through the decades.

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22.

The OpenFDA project was created to enable easy access of the data for the public and was officially launched in June 2014.

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23.

The history of the FDA can be traced to the latter part of the 19th century and the Division of Chemistry of the U S Department of Agriculture, which was itself derived from the Copyright and Patent Clause.

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24.

Partly in response to these criticisms, the FDA issued new rules to expedite approval of drugs for life-threatening diseases, and expanded pre-approval access to drugs for patients with limited treatment options.

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25.

Frank Young, then commissioner of the FDA, was behind the Action Plan Phase II, established in August 1987 for quicker approval of AIDS medication.

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26.

In 1997, the FDA proposed a rule to require pediatric drug trials from the sponsors of New Drug Applications.

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27.

FDA has regulatory oversight over a large array of products that affect the health and life of American citizens.

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28.

The report explains the FDA has structural and leadership problems in the food division and is often deferential to industry.

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