China’s First White Paper on Regulatory Surveillance and Management of Drug Safety

On 18th July 2008, the State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China released the White Paper on “The Status of Regulatory Surveillance and Management of Safety of Drugs in China” (the Paper).  This is the first white paper on drug safety published by the government, indicating its commitment to strengthening the control of drugs and guaranteeing public safety. The Paper covers five areas, including (1) overview of drug supply, quality and safety; (2) supervision and legal system; (3) policies and measures; (4) traditional Chinese medicine and folk medicine; and (5) international exchanges and cooperation.

As pointed out in the Paper, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and folk medicine are the two major distinctive characteristics of Chinese medical science.  They are also the important parts of the magnificent culture of the China.  To optimize TCM’s role in prevention and treatment of diseases, the mainland government has drawn up a series of administrative regulations and policies to enhance the supervision of TCM and improve the quality continuously.  The Paper also emphasizes the importance of international collaboration, citing certain promising achievements made by collaborative efforts with various countries and regions.  Moreover it is noted that 20 Chinese crude drugs are adopted in the French list of medicinal plants, 7 standards for Chinese crude drugs are adopted in the French pharmacopoeia, and 4 standards in the European pharmacopoeia.

To read the full text of the White Paper (in English), please visit http://eng.sfda.gov.cn/cmsweb/webportal/W43879541/A64028182.html

Sources:
State Food and Drug Administration, PRC   www.sfda.gov.cn
People’s Daily Online   www.people.com.cn