WASHINGTON, April 26, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI) will host a major conference on food and drug law, regulation and policy in China and the United States June 13-14, in Beijing, China.

The FDLI conference, U.S.-China Food and Drug Law: Ensuring Quality, Improving Safety, Expanding Access, is being held in cooperation with Tsinghua University School of Law and Health Law Research Center. The event will cover emerging issues in five key areas: pharmaceuticals, medical devices, food, cosmetics and dietary supplement.

Ralph Tyler, FDA Chief Counsel, and Wu Zhen, Deputy Commissioner of State Food and Drug Administration, will present keynote addresses at the meeting.

FDLI, founded in 1949, is a non-profit membership organization that provides a marketplace for discussing food and drug law issues through conferences, publications and member interaction. FDLI's scope includes food, drugs, animal drugs, biologics, cosmetics, diagnostics, dietary supplements, medical devices and tobacco.

The conference recognizes China's rapidly increasing importance in the food and drug sector, as a raw materials supplier, as an innovative manufacturer and as an ever-expanding consumer base. Understanding how China regulates food, medical products and cosmetics has become critically important for Chinese companies and multinational firms doing business in China or with Chinese partners.

At this conference, attendees will hear Fortune 500 company executives discuss how to maximize opportunity and meet challenges in the Chinese market; attorneys, trade association representatives and academics discuss legal and policy issues in ensuring safety and promoting health for the combined U.S./Chinese market of more than 1.6 billion consumers; and government officials describe the intricacies of food and drug regulatory systems in both countries.

The program includes three comprehensive plenary sessions on innovation and access, public-private partnerships, and doing business in China and more than two dozen breakout sessions on emerging issues, such as ensuring the quality and integrity of the global supply chain, consumer protection, enforcement, and post-market surveillance.

Multinational corporate speakers include:

• Rachel Duan, President and CEO, GE Healthcare China
• Ken Marenus, Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs Worldwide, The Estee Lauder Companies
• Joaquin Pelaez, Senior Vice President and Chief Support Officer, Yum! Brands, Inc., China Division
• Adrian Thomas, Worldwide Vice President, Johnson Pharmaceutical Services
• John Venados, Senior Vice President, Herbalife

The conference is sponsored by approximately two dozen corporations, law firms, trade associations and nonprofits and 14 supporting partners, including the US-China Business Council,  AmCham China, and China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment R & D-based Pharmaceutical Association Committee (RDPAC). 

Sponsoring organizations for the event include: 

• Arnold & Porter LLP
• BD
• Becker Compliance
• Boston Scientific Corporation
• Covington & Burling LLP
• Duane Morris LLP
• The Estee Lauder Companies
• FDAImports.com
• GE Healthcare
• Johnson & Johnson
• Keller and Heckman LLP
• Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
• Medtronic
• Novartis
• P&G Beauty and Grooming
• Pfizer
• Reed Smith
• Ropes & Gray LLP
• Sidley Austin LLP
• Terumo Cardiovascular Systems
• U.S. Pharmacopeia
• Venable LLP

Supporting partners for the meeting include:

• AdvaMed
• AmCham China
• Becker & Associates Consulting, Inc.
• China Association for Medical Device Industry (Invited)
• China National Food Industry Association
• Drug Information Association
• GIC Group/Global Food Safety Forum
• Global Cold Chain Alliance
• National Consumers League
• Natural Products Association
• Personal Care Products Council
• China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment R & D-based Pharmaceutical Association Committee (RDPAC) 
• US–China Business Council
• US–China Health Products Association

To view the program agenda, register for the conference or find out about sponsorship opportunities, visit http://www.fdli.org/china

Media: For further information, contact Michael Levin-Epstein, Editor-in-Chief, FDLI, (202) 222-0897 or mdl@fdli.org

SOURCE Food and Drug Law Institute