Following the Reorganization and Rationalization Plan for Special Public Corporations that was approved in a Cabinet meeting in 2001, the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) was established and came into service on April 1, 2004, under the Law for the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency, as a consolidation of the services of the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Evaluation Center of the National Institute of Health Sciences (PMDEC), the Organization for Pharmaceutical Safety and Research (OPSR/KIKO), and part of the Japan Association for the Advancement of Medical Equipment (JAAME).
