FDA to Increase its Ties to China

Margaret Hamburg, FDA Commissioner, visited China recently to oversee efforts to strengthen inspection and regulatory reviews and to attend the Ninth International Summit of Heads of Medicines Regulatory Agencies Meeting, hosted this year by China’s Food and Drug Administration (CFDA). 

As Reuters reported, she was optimistic about progress and prospects for the future, and expected the Chinese government to approve visas that would increase three-fold the number of FDA professionals based in Beijing.  Currently, FDA has 13 employees in its Beijing office, including eight US citizens, among them Director Christopher Hickey.  The agency has also trained over 1,000 food and drug inspectors, according to an article in China Daily.  FDA had established the office after the heparin recalls of 2008.

Dr. Hamburg addressed students in a speech at Peking University, touching on China’s strategic importance and the connections between China and the US. FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, its Beijing Office, and the University, are collaborating on the International pharmaceutical engineering management degree, designed to train today’s graduates in the most modern research and manufacturing science.