Democrats unveil global drug safety bill

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Source: Reuters

U.S. inspections of overseas pharmaceutical plants would increase and regulators would gain new recall power under proposals unveiled by Democrats in the House of Representatives on Monday.

Representatives Henry Waxman, Frank Pallone, John Dingell and Bart Stupak said they released the measures to open discussion on ways to help the Food and Drug Administration better police the increasingly global marketplace for prescription drugs.

The draft legislation is a response in part to tainted heparin from China blamed for dozens of deaths in 2008.

"Americans have been alarmed in recent years over some very concerning issues related to the quality and safety of certain drug products. We know we need to address this. The only question now is how," Dingell said in a statement.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100921/hl_nm/us_congress_drugs

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