[Gnumed-devel] Getting US drug data into FreeDiams - FDA Electronic Orange Book (EOB) Query data files

[Jim Busser]

(I posted a description of the other FDA source in a thread that I did not 
cross-post to GNUmed but that post is at
        http://groups.google.com/group/freemedforms/t/37aef270f71ef1a8


The FDA Electronic Orange Book (EOB) Query data files download

        http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/InformationOnDrugs/ucm129689.htm

offers three files:

        Patent
        Exclusivity
        Products

the first two contain little of interest. The last one contains 24,704 records 
of the form

Ingredient~DF;Route~Trade_Name~Applicant~Strength~Appl_Type~Appl_No~Product_No~TE_Code~Approval_Date~RLD~Type~Applicant_Full_Name

e.g.

ENALAPRIL MALEATE; FELODIPINE~TABLET, EXTENDED RELEASE; 
ORAL~LEXXEL~ASTRAZENECA~5MG;2.5MG~N~020668~002~~Oct 28, 
1998~No~DISCN~ASTRAZENECA PHARMACEUTICALS LP

ENALAPRIL MALEATE; FELODIPINE~TABLET, EXTENDED RELEASE; 
ORAL~LEXXEL~ASTRAZENECA~5MG;5MG~N~020668~001~~Dec 27, 1996~Yes~RX~ASTRAZENECA 
PHARMACEUTICALS LP

so this really provides no advantage over the alternate drugsatfda.zip source.