Posted by Michael Wonder on 14 Jan 2020
FDA approves drugs faster than ever but relies on weaker evidence, researchers find
14 January 2020 - The FDA has gotten faster at approving new prescription drugs over the past four decades, but the evidence it relies on in making those decisions is getting weaker, according to new research published Tuesday.
As a result, there are more cures and treatments on the market but less proof that they are safe and effective.
"There has been a gradual erosion of the evidence that's required for FDA approval," says lead study author Jonathan Darrow, a lawyer with Harvard Medical School's Program on Regulation, Therapeutics and Law. As a result, patients and physicians "should not expect that new drugs will be dramatically better than older ones."
