Drug Identification Number

Any product defined as a drug under the Canadian Food and Drugs Act must have an associated Drug Identification Number (or DIN).

The Drug Identification Number (DIN) is the 8 digit number located on the label of prescription and over-the-counter drug products that have been evaluated by the Therapeutic Products Directorate (TPD) and approved for sale in Canada. The DIN is typically an eight digit number.

Once a drug has been approved, the Therapeutic Products Directorate issues a DIN which permits the manufacturer to market the drug in Canada. For drugs where there is minimal market history in Canada, there is a more stringent review and the drug is required to have a Notice of Compliance and a DIN in order to be marketed in Canada.

A DIN lets the user know that the product has undergone and passed a review of its formulation, labeling and instructions for use. A drug product sold in Canada without a DIN is not in compliance with Canadian law.

The DIN is also a tool to help in the follow-up of products on the market, recall of products, inspections, and quality monitoring.

Famous quotes containing the words drug and/or number:

    Whoever grows angry amid troubles applies a drug worse than the disease and is a physician unskilled about misfortunes.
    Sophocles (497–406/5 B.C.)

    I have known a number of Don Juans who were good studs and who cavorted between the sheets without a psychiatrist to guide them. But most of the busy love-makers I knew were looking for masculinity rather than practicing it. They were fellows of dubious lust.
    Ben Hecht (1893–1964)