FDA Funding – Where does the money come from?

4 Nov

Here’s a post from Ivanhoe Broadcast News. Some scary statistics: Americans are 10x more likely to be hospitalized from an adverse drug reaction than a car crash. These reactions are the 4th leading cause of death in the US. Doctors and patients need to read and understand the potential risks with these drugs, but the information given them needs to be accurate and fair. When the drug companies themselves are “paying for more than 1/2 of all reviews” (more than $600 million of the FDA’s budget, which the FDA needs to survive), can this information truly be impartial? Especially when the drug companies’ main incentive is to get it to market as soon as possible? You tell me – is “trust us” a good method of review for the FDA to base its reviews on?