Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 March 2009
Drug regulation in the United States has been the subject of extensive public literature and has been studied more thoroughly than any other aspect of American governmental regulation. Yet it remains mired in criticism and debate that, over the years, have threatened not only the existing regulatory system but also the stability of the American drug industry itself. This article summarizes the history of drug regulation in the United States, discusses the basic structure of the American regulatory system as it exists today, and relates some of the more important controversies that continue to surround this subject.