Mandatory recalls of drugs posing an imminent threat to human health could be initiated by the US FDA if a bill introduced last week is passed into law.

The bill would give the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) power to order immediate cessation of distribution and a recall when it believes a drug could cause serious harm to humans or animals.

US Representative Edolphus “Ed” Towns introduced the bill. Towns is chairman of the US House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and in this capacity has criticised Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) handling of quality control concerns at its McNeil Consumer Healthcare division.

On May 27, having overseen the hearing into the J&J recall, Towns said : “One thing we know now is that the FDA needs mandatory recall authority. They shouldn’t have to persuade a company to recall suspect products. I intend to introduce legislation to give FDA that authority.”