Most Americans Oppose 21st Century Fast Track Drug Approval

As reported by STATnews (here), "a majority of Americans opposes federal regulatory changes to speed up the development and approval of new medical treatments." This was one result of a new poll of 1,006 randomly selected adults, ages 18 and older, conducted via phone by Stat and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The "regulatory changes" are part of the 21st Century Cures Act (H.R. 6), which passed the House in 2015.

Click on image for enlarged view.

FDA Commissioner Robert Califf warned that if the 21st Century Cures legislation “is not carefully crafted it could pose a significant risk” for patients. “Innovative therapies are not helpful to patients” if they don’t work or they cause harm, Califf said at the Food and Drug Law Institute’s Annual Conference ("FDA Commish Califf Not In Tune with #Pharma viz-a-viz 21st Century Cures Act?").

But many Americans have issues other than safety if drugs are approved too fast, according to the Harvard-STAT survey. Let's look at some of the results of this survey in more detail, leaving aside the inherent bias of telephone surveys (who answers their phones these days without screening messages first?).

Read more »