•    Tiger Balm Patch Received US FDA Warning
In a letter that was made public on 10-Aug-2010, US FDA alleged that the Singapore-based maker of Tiger Balm failed to adequately test its OTC products. Tiger Balm is labelled as pain-relieving patch, which qualifies as a registrable drug in the US & FDA inspected the  manufacturing facility in October 2009 & found that employees were untrained, control procedures were not followed, and laboratory tests had incomplete data.
Tiger Balm is not regulated as "medicinal product" as they do not contain ingredients controlled under Poisons Act; however, Though they are not subjected to licensing by HSA for consumer advertising & they are required to comply with safety and quality guidelines under HSA's purview.

•    FDA Approved New Morning-After Pill
The FDA has approved Ella, a new morning-after contraceptive pill effective for up to five days after unprotected sex or contraceptive failure.
The drug already is approved in Europe and sold there as EllaOne. This new drug contains ulipristal, a non-hormonal drug that blocks the effects of key hormones necessary for conception.
Ella is manufactured by Paris-based Laboratoire HRA Pharma.

•    HSA Website to Announce New Drug Approvals
In an effort to provide greater visibility to the HCP, HSA has created a new site in to announce the new medicinal product approval for innovator products, new combinations, dosage forms or new indications for existing innovator products. The listing will capture approvals monthly beginning Jan 2010 and the site can be accessed here .

•    Teva Pharma to Acquire Ratiopharm
Teva Pharmaceutical, one of the biggest generic drugs maker/marketer, has received approval from the European Commission to proceed with its acquisition of Ratiopharm. Ratiopharm, founded in 1973, is an international generics producer headquartered in Germany. It holds nearly 1,000 products which are currently at the approval stage.

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