In The Conversation’s first editorial meeting editor Andrew Jaspan explained what he wanted to achieve with the site: a more informed level of debate, based on evidence, research and expert opinion. It…
The TGA investigates just over half of all safety complaints it receives about medical devices.
Flickr/johanlb
The recent recalls of metal-on-metal hip replacements and PIP breast implants highlight the potential for widely used medical implants and devices to cause serious harm, despite having passed all the required…
The TGA is still slow to act on products making dubious weight-loss claims.
puuikibeach
Little seems to have changed inside the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). And that’s despite two years of reviews into the shortcomings of its regulatory processes and the release, late last year…
The TGA-banned painkillers are no more effective than paracetamol for acute pain.
Cayusa/Flickr
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal has granted pharmaceutical company Aspen Pharmacare a legal stay against the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s (TGA) ban on some of its products. The company took the…
MP Catherine King, who announced TGA reforms on Thursday afternoon, speaks to reporters on Aug. 11, 2011.
AAP/Melissa Lahoud
The government has just announced its response to a series of reviews of the Therapeutic Goods Administration over the past 18 months. The announcement was brought forward after a summary of the reforms…
Some complementary medicines fill a medical need while others are of no value whatsoever.
nicholaslaughlin
Some complementary medicines are useful while others are just plain quackery so any attempt to regulate the industry requires an understanding of this heterogeneity. What’s more, the regulator of the industry…
Johnson and Johnson’s faulty Du Puy hip implants leeched metal into the tissue of some recipients.
Okadots
With joint replacement surgery becoming increasingly common, the flap over a large recall of De Puy hip implants has thousands of Australians worried about the quality and longevity their own hip replacements…
Vitamins, minerals and herbal therapies should live up to the claims on their packaging.
Peter Sunna
Two out of three Australians use complementary medicines to boost their nutrition, alleviate various symptoms and improve their overall health and well-being. There are around 10,000 products to choose…
The US FDA is moving to regulate medical mobile apps linked to instruments it currently oversees.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to regulate some medical mobile applications, or apps, in an apparent bid to protect consumers from harming themselves or others. At first sight…
There’s growing pressure on the TGA to disclose details of its pre-market reviews of approved medications.
Tom Varco/Wikimedia commons
The latest report on Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) activities – this one concerning transparency – has just been made public, two weeks after it was submitted to the government. At least this…
An FDA audit of CSL’s laboratories has found the company doesn’t follow good manufacturing practice.
AAP
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has just issued a warning letter about the safety of CSL’s influenza vaccine, Fluvax. The letter follows FDA’s latest annual inspection of CSL laboratories and…
Screen shot at PM.
Malcolm Vickers/Australian Skeptics (Victorian Branch)
The SensaSlim company’s recent defamation suit against Dr Ken Harvey of La Trobe University highlights some of the regulatory problems facing complementary products in Australia. Dr Harvey initiated a…
On March 18, 2011, I submitted my first complaint about the promotion of SensaSlim to appropriate authorities – the Complaint Resolution Panel (CRP) which hears complaints about alleged breaches of the…
Professor - Emerging Technologies (Stem Cells) at The University of Melbourne and Group Leader - Stem Cell Ethics & Policy at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The University of Melbourne