Five Things Industry Can Do to Support True FDA Reform, and Restore Public Confidence (written by Luke Timmerman @ Xconomy)
1. Support an increase in the FDA budget.
2. Voluntarily ban all direct-to-consumer TV advertising.
3. Support legislation to ban FDA advisory committee members with conflicts of interest.
4. Full disclosure of FDA complete response letters.
5. Finance strong “regulatory science” programs at U.S. business schools and medical schools.
The FDA is one of the easiest punching bags in American politics. Depending on your point of view, it’s either too hard on business with its unreasonable demands, or too soft on those predatory drug companies seeking to profit off Grandma’s illness regardless of whether the products are safe.
When it does its job well, the FDA is like an umpire in baseball. Nobody notices. When it screws up, it’s screaming headline news. The polls show various scandals have taken a toll: About half of the U.S. public thinks the FDA is doing a bad job, and the perceptions are that drug companies put profits ahead of patients.
Not surprisingly, the FDA spends most of its time in a defensive crouch, fending off attacks from all angl...
