Go Ad-Free
logoThe People's Perspective on Medicine

FDA Is Concerned about Drug Quality

The FDA's Office of Pharmaceutical Quality will oversee both new and existing drugs.

The Food and Drug Administration has just announced a restructuring. The agency will be adding a new department, the Office of Pharmaceutical Quality, to rectify some serious manufacturing problems that have come to light over the past decade.

Last year, drug recalls affected 70 million drug units. As alarming as that sounds, it is actually an improvement over previous years when 225 million units were recalled annually.

The new Office of Pharmaceutical Quality will pay special attention to extended-release drugs. This is in large part because the agency discovered that some generic forms of Wellbutrin XL 300 were not bioequivalent. This discovery and certain others forced the FDA to reconsider its approach to extended-release generic medications.

Rate this article
star-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-empty
5- 22 ratings
About the Author
Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist who has dedicated his career to making drug information understandable to consumers. His best-selling book, The People’s Pharmacy, was published in 1976 and led to a syndicated newspaper column, syndicated public radio show and web site. In 2006, Long Island University awarded him an honorary doctorate as “one of the country's leading drug experts for the consumer.”.
Tired of the ads on our website?

Now you can browse our website completely ad-free for just $5 / month. Stay up to date on breaking health news and support our work without the distraction of advertisements.

Browse our website ad-free
Join over 150,000 Subscribers at The People's Pharmacy

We're empowering you to make wise decisions about your own health, by providing you with essential health information about both medical and alternative treatment options.