title: Unapproved drugs in the United States and the Food and Drug Administration.
abstract: Despite more than a century of evolving federal legislation, there remain many unapproved drugs on the United States (US) market. This article reviews the history of drug approval in the US, beginning with the landmark Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, through to the development of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was the first comprehensive federal legislation covering drug regulation. Intervening legislation, such as the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 and Kefauver-Harris Amendments in 1962, was later instituted. In June 2006, a century after the development of the FDA as an enforcement body, an initiative was undertaken to remove unapproved drugs from the marketplace. The Marketed Unapproved Drugs-Compliance Policy Guide outlines enforcement policies aimed at efficiently and rationally bringing all unapproved and illegally marketed drugs into the approval process, or discontinuing their manufacture, distribution, and sale. The FDA has been actively pursuing control of unapproved drugs in recent years, with an approach concentrating on drug safety to ensure optimal public health and consumer protection.
authors: URL Pharma, Inc., Mutual Pharmaceutical Company, Inc., Philadelphia, PA 19124, USA.
authors: Alexander
authors: A
authors: Nasr
authors: Thomas J
authors: TJ
authors: Lauterio
authors: Matthew W
authors: MW
authors: Davis
mesh_terms: D003257:Consumer Product Safety / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003663:Decision Trees; D017277:Drug Approval / Q000266:history* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D035846:Law Enforcement; D056737:Safety-Based Drug Withdrawals; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration