Coagulation and Adulteration — Building on Science and Policy Lessons from 1905

Abstract

In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt called for a law to ensure the safety of the drug and food supply. Dr. Jerry Avorn writes that we forgot the Progressive Era lesson that, if left unchecked, human nature often favors a quick buck over a pure product. Dr. Janet Woodcock discusses the contaminated heparin from China and the legal and financial changes required for the Food and Drug Administration to function in a global economy. Dr. Woodcock is director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the FDA.