17 December 2019 - Only about one quarter (25.1%) of Americans understand that a new drug approved by the US FDA does not necessarily mean the drug will help most people who use it, according to the results of a survey published last week in Pharmacoepidemiology & Drug Safety.

However, FDA’s survey of a nationally representative group of 1,744 US adults did find that more than half understood that FDA approves prescription drugs when the drug offers benefits that outweigh the risks, although 17.5% thought that an FDA approved drug will cure the condition for which it’s prescribed.

In addition to the findings on the approvals, the researchers also sought to understand how the public views FDA’s role in regulating direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising.

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