FDA Sets Up Shop in Mexico

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has continued its expansion outside of the United States with the opening of an office in Mexico. This is now the third FDA office in Latin America after Costa Rica and Chile.

The move is the latest in an effort by the FDA to influence foreign markets, and in particular in areas which serve as important importation partners into the US supply chains including pharmaceuticals, medical devices and food.

The new office which is based in the capital, Mexico City, "represents an important step as we re-design our product safety strategy," commented FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg.

Mexico is the largest pharmaceutical market in Central America, with 2009 sales estimated to reach around $9bn and expected to grow to nearly $15bn over the next five years, according to Business Monitor International. It is the second-largest pharmaceutical market in Latin America as a whole.

XStream Systems encourages the continued expansion of the FDA into countries that are important trading partners but also suggest that regulatory bodies and supply chains, internationally and domestically, utilize technologies like EDXRD to protect itself from fraudulent, adulterated and counterfeit materials.

To learn more about supply chain protection technologies, visit: www.xstreamsystems.net.