Looks like big business is getting a much larger role in the FDA’s decisions… this usually means higher prices, longer patent protection periods, less consumer-friendly decisions:
The FDA has long been shielded from political influence, but that’s changing under Trump
WASHINGTON — Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has repeatedly promised to root out industry influence from the Food and Drug Administration.
But the Trump administration’s injection of political priorities into the agency, which has long been shielded from such meddling, has opened new avenues for lobbying. The pharmaceutical industry is working to capitalize, according to 10 people, including lobbyists, advisers, FDA officials, and an executive involved in the efforts.
“The nature of the relationship is so drastically different now,” Michael Abrams, a managing partner at Numerof and Associates who works with pharmaceutical clients on regulatory requirements, said of the interactions between companies and the administration. Abrams said the new system, under Trump, makes discussions about FDA decisions that once would have been “heretical” the new norm.
Companies pressuring the FDA to make favorable decisions is not new. Biogen, for example, famously lobbied senior FDA officials to approve its controversial Alzheimer’s drug. But the approach is becoming more common and more blatant. It’s reaching beyond the FDA as companies work to sell the White House or senior health department leaders on how a decision — or company’s success — can be spun as a win for the Trump administration, according to four people involved in the strategies.
Full story: Pharma lobbyists focus on a surprising new target: the FDA (STAT)