New powers, new name for China's drug regulator

China's State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) is no more. The agency has gotten a promotion and a new name, the China Food and Drug Administration (CDFA), in-PharmaTechnologist points out. China consolidated oversight functions from a number of agencies into the CDFA and elevated it to a ministerial-level agency. Citing the South China Post, it says that up to 13 government agencies had some say over drug and food regulations. It will now be led by Zhang Yong, who had been director of the food safety commission. The country faced a number of publicly embarrassing scandals last year. It uncovered drugmakers using cooking oil in some products and capsulemakers using scrap leather with high levels of toxins for their gelatin. The country is also often labeled the center of drug counterfeiting. Story | More