Food and Drug Administration

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or USFDA) is a federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety, tobacco products, dietary supplements, prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs (medications), vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, blood transfusions, medical devices, electromagnetic radiation emitting devices (ERED), cosmetics, animal foods & feed and veterinary products.

The FDA was empowered by the United States Congress to enforce the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which serves as the primary focus for the Agency; the FDA also enforces other laws, notably Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act and associated regulations, many of which are not directly related to food or drugs. These include regulating lasers, cellular phones, condoms and control of disease on products ranging from certain household pets to sperm donation for assisted reproduction.

Food and Drug Administration (Philippines)

The Food and Drug Administration of the Philippines (Filipino: Pangasiwaan ng Pagkain at Gamot, or FDA, formerly the Bureau of Food and Drugs or BFAD) was created under the Department of Health to license, monitor, and regulate the flow of food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, and household hazardous waste in the Philippines.

The FDA's main goal is to ensure the health and safety of food and drugs made available to the public.

History

In the light of the tremendous progress in the food and pharmaceutical industry, the late Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque Sr. created a subcommittee on Food and Drugs in the year 1961-62 to initiate an administration bill to Congress to enact a law that would ensure the safety, purity and quality of foods, drugs and cosmetics being made available to the public. The Subcommittee on Food and Drug was chaired by the then Undersecretary for Special Health Services, Dr. Rodolfo Caños, with members Dr. Trinidad Pesigan, Director of the Bureau of Research and Laboratories, Mr. Emilio Espinosa of the Bureau of Health Services, Ms. Amor Cita M. Pallera, Pharmacy Adviser, Office of the Secretary of Health, also as Secretary and Liaison to Congress. Thus, on June 22, 1963 Republic Act No. 3720 was passed into law known as the “Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act”.

Food and Drug Administration (Myanmar)

The Department of Food and Drug Administration (Burmese: အစားအသောက်နှင့် ဆေးဝါးကွပ်ကဲရေး ဦးစီးဌာန; abbreviated FDA) is Burma's food safety regulatory body, which oversees the safety and quality of food, drugs, medical devices and cosmetics. FDA was established in 1995. The agency was established under the 1992 National Drug Law, which also established the Food and Drug Board of Authority, which regulates and controls the manufacture, import, export, storage, distribution and sale of food and drugs, in the interests of public safety.

See also

References

Pharmaceutical drug

A pharmaceutical drug (also referred to as a pharmaceutical, pharmaceutical preparation, pharmaceutical product, medicinal product, medicine, medication, medicament, or simply a drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and relies on the science of pharmacology for continual advancement and on pharmacy for appropriate management.

Drugs are classified in various ways. One of the key divisions is by level of control, which distinguishes prescription drugs (those that a pharmacist dispenses only on the order of a physician, physician assistant, or qualified nurse) from over-the-counter drugs (those that consumers can order for themselves). Another key distinction is between traditional small molecule drugs, usually derived from chemical synthesis, and biopharmaceuticals, which include recombinant proteins, vaccines, blood products used therapeutically (such as IVIG), gene therapy, and cell therapy (for instance, stem cell therapies). Other ways to classify medicines are by mode of action, route of administration, biological system affected, or therapeutic effects. An elaborate and widely used classification system is the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System (ATC system). The World Health Organization keeps a list of essential medicines.