US FDA Chief: If You Want Our Market, Meet Our Standards

US regulators seek cooperation on quality control from its supplier of foods and medicines. "If Indian pharmaceutical companies want to sell in the US, they need to comply with our standards, practices and expectations,” said Margaret Hamburg, commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, according to a report in the Times of India. She offered the comments during a trip to India and announced more stringent inspections on US imports. India and other countries are huge suppliers: 40 percent of US medications are imported; nearly 80 percent of active ingredients come from China and India; India provides 40 percent of US generic drugs, and is also the eighth largest exporter of seafood to the US. Hamburg urged India to join a coalition of world regulators on drug safety standards. The FDA has inspectors around the globe who inspect a percentage of shipments, and expects to increase the group in Mumbai from 11 to 19. – YaleGlobal