Searching the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG)

11 April 2011

About the ARTG

The publically accessible version of the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) is the reference database of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). It provides information on therapeutic goods that can be supplied in Australia. Sponsors of medicines and medical devices entered on the ARTG have demonstrated to the TGA that their product's benefits outweigh the risks for their intended use.

The ARTG is available online for anyone to view. Information you can find on the ARTG includes:

• Product name and ingredients
• Sponsor and manufacturer details
• If a medicine is registered or listed
• Class level for medical devices.

Please note: the ARTG is a record of the contents and classification details of therapeutic goods. It is not intended to provide guidance, advice or recommendations on those goods.

If a therapeutic good is not entered on the ARTG, it cannot be supplied in Australia. There are special circumstances where individuals can access unapproved therapeutic goods. For more information see: Access to unapproved products.

Using the ARTG search function

You can search the ARTG for medicines or medical devices.

To do this, choose the search type and, if you have enough information, enter the sponsor, ARTG information, name of the product or the active ingredient into the search term text box.

For example, if you are searching products containing paracetamol, you would:

• highlight 'current medicines,' to refine the search to all medicines currently entered on the ARTG;
• select 'active ingredient' from the 'search type' drop down menu;
• type 'paracetamol' in the search term text box; and
• click the search box All current medicines on the ARTG with paracetamol as the active ingredient will be displayed.

If you also select the 'fuzzy option,' by selecting the box under the search term text box, the search function will conduct a 'wild card' search and find any occurrence of a word, or text string, entered into the 'term to search for' text box in the chosen category.

Detailed information about a current medicine or medical device ARTG entry can be viewed by clicking on its 'Product' name link. This will open the therapeutic product's public summary document.

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