Fact check
“The unique facility identification number is also known as a DUNS number.”
Reasoning
ProPublica articles describing the Clear Labels Act refer to the unique facility identification number required on drug labels as a DUNS number, confirming the equivalence of the terms.
On confidence: Multiple primary sources explicitly state that the unique facility identification number is called a DUNS number.
Important context
The term DUNS (Data Universal Numbering System) is used by the U.S. government and industry to uniquely identify facilities, and the articles cite it in the context of drug manufacturing labels.
Evidence
Supporting (5)
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceClear Labels Act Stripped of Critical Drug Safety Provisions — ProPublica
representative said. But Peter Baker, a former FDA inspector whose work involved the very companies impacted by the bill, said that amount of time is unnecessary. “If they wanted to do it in one year, they could,” Baker said. “I would love…
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceClear Labels Act Stripped of Critical Drug Safety Provisions — ProPublica
requirement to include a unique facility identification number on labels, called a DUNS number, which would have allowed the public to more easily trace a generic drug and its active ingredients to the factories where they were made. In…
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceClear Labels Act Stripped of Critical Drug Safety Provisions — ProPublica
the bill’s updated language, drug labels will only be required to include factory addresses, which can be inconsistent and hard to trace to a manufacturing facility. A single address in India, for example, can house multiple factories,…
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceClear Labels Act Stripped of Critical Drug Safety Provisions — ProPublica
determine whether manufacturers are skirting the address requirement. It would be easier to require the unique identifier, he said, because inspectors could more easily verify the information. “The more flexibility they allow, the more…
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceClear Labels Act Stripped of Critical Drug Safety Provisions — ProPublica
are already using the tool to learn more about the drugs they take and prescribe . Under the bill’s updated language, drug labels will only be required to include factory addresses, which can be inconsistent and hard to trace to a…
Limitations
The evidence is limited to reporting on a specific legislative context; no broader regulatory definition is provided, but the claim is directly supported by the cited excerpts.
- Last verified:
- Sep 27, 2026, 4:25 AM CDT
- Pipeline:
- 2.1.0
- Claim type:
- Factual
Where this claim appeared
“A Clear Watering Down”: Drug Transparency Bill Stripped of Critical Provisions Ahead of Senate VoteProPublica · Naisha Roy