RELEASE: Speeding Up Drug Approval Process Won’t Lower Consumer Costs, Says CAP

Washington, D.C. — The Center for American Progress today issued a new brief that outlines why federal regulators should not cut corners when it comes to approving new prescription drugs. CAP recommends that the authority of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, should not be undermined. Currently, the FDA approves drugs more quickly than any other nation and has enough flexibility to responsibly expedite the process for critical new treatments. Speeding up the drug development and approval process further by permitting the FDA to find a drug safe and effective on the basis of less scientifically rigorous evidence would harm patients and do nothing to lower drug prices.

“There is enough flexibility already in the FDA approval process to bring lifesaving drugs to market in a timely manner,” said Maura Calsyn, Director of Health Policy at CAP and a coauthor of the brief. “The current process strikes a critical balance between speed and diligence.”

It is no secret why the pharmaceutical industry is attempting to shift blame to the FDA. Thanks to drug companies, prescription drug prices are sky-high and growing fast. But ultimately, cutting corners and undermining the FDA will not change how drug companies choose to price their products. Patient safety and drug effectiveness should be put ahead of corporate profits.

In September, CAP released a set of integrated reforms that challenged lawmakers and public officials to make halting the rising cost of prescription drugs a priority. In the report, CAP offers new policy recommendations on how to lower costs for consumers, bring about transparency to the pharmaceutical industry, and encourage innovation through rewarding drugs that show a measurable benefit to patients, including a range of options that are available without the need for any new federal legislation.

Read the full brief, “The FDA Is Not the Problem: Why Undermining the Drug Approval Process Is Not the Answer to High Drug Prices” by Maura Calsyn and Thomas Huelskoetter online here.

Related resources:

• Enough Is Enough: The Time Has Come to Address Sky-High Drug Prices by Topher Spiro, Maura Calsyn, and Thomas Huelskoetter
• Payment Reform Action Plan: Meeting the New Medicare Payment Reform Target by Zeke Emanuel, Allyson Schwartz, Topher Spiro, and Thomas Huelskoetter
• A Strategy for Medicare Payment Reform by Topher Spiro, Maura Calsyn, and Meghan O’Toole
• The Senior Protection Plan by the CAP Health Policy Team

For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, contact Liz Bartolomeo at [email protected] or 202.481.8151.