Posted by Michael Wonder on 13 Nov 2017
High costs of FDA approval for formerly unapproved marketed drugs
13 November 2017 - In May 2017, the US FDA announced a Drug Competition Action Plan, designed to address competition and pricing in the generic market and improve access to prescription drugs.
One of FDA’s stated goals is to reexamine “places where its rules—including standards and procedures related to generic drug approvals—are being used in ways that may create obstacles to generic access,” instead of ensuring the vigorous competition Congress intended.
In this Viewpoint, Hakim et al. examine FDA’s 2006 Unapproved Drugs Initiative, designed to strengthen the agency’s regulatory oversight related to unapproved marketed drugs. Using an illustrative example, we discuss this initiative’s unintended consequences, as it appears to have created obstacles to generic drug access, likely increasing prescription drug costs.
