Boston Globe Examines How FDA-Approval Process Has Changed Since 1980s in Part Because of Pressure From AIDS Advocates

The Boston Globe on Sunday examined the history of FDA's drug-approval process, which over the past 15 years has "swung from taking too long to get medicine to dying AIDS patients to drawing fire for rushing drugs to market that wound up killing people." In the 1980s, AIDS advocates "besieged" FDA, demanding it make more drugs available to fight the disease, the Globe reports. At the same time, some major drug companies threatened to move operations overseas, prompting Congress to pass laws creating a "speedier" approval process funded by drug companies, according to the Globe. However, a "troubling pattern quickly emerged" in the approval process after nine drugs approved after the changes were withdrawn for safety reasons by 2000, the Globe reports (Henderson/Rowland, Boston Globe, 4/10). The complete article is available online.