Kelley Drye Partners Navigate the Shifting Legal Terrain Facing Marketers of Imported Products at FDLI’s U.S.-China Food and Drug Law Conference in Beijing

Last week, Kelley Drye partner John E. Villafranco participated in the first U.S.-China Food and Drug Law Conference, which was convened in Beijing by The Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI) in partnership with Tsinghua University School of Law and Health Law Research Center. The conference was entitled, Ensuring Quality, Improving Safety, Expanding Access,” and explored the complex legal and commercial challenges facing companies engaged in importing and marketing food and drug products in the United States that are made in China. The conference also explored the opportunities and challenges that face companies that intend to market food and drug products in China.

The international conference brought together nearly 250 lawyers and regulatory science professionals from around the world, including regulatory officials representing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and comparable agencies in China and many other countries. FDA Chief Counsel, Ralph Tyler, addressed FDA’s regulatory and enforcement initiatives concerning imported food and drug products. FDA’s China Country Director, Dr. Christopher Hickey, and FDA’s China Country Assistant Director, Irene Chan, JD, MPH, addressed FDA’s policy objectives in China, and the progress that has been made since FDA opened its offices in China.

Mr. Villafranco presented at the session Enforcing Transparency: Labels, Ingredients and Health Claims,” where he discussed respective U.S. and Chinese government law and policy standards concerning product information and advertising claims for dietary supplement products. For more on these issues, click here to download the paper, It’s All Local: What You Need to Know About the Law Relating to the Marketing of Dietary Supplements In the U.S., the European Union, and China.”

Kelley Drye & Warren was a leading law firm sponsor of the U.S.-China conference.

Kelley Drye’s Advertising & Marketing and Privacy & Information Security practices have been highly ranked by Chambers USA and U.S. Legal 500. Among others in the practice group, John E. Villafranco was recognized as a leading lawyer nationally in the Advertising Litigation category.