Lydia Ramsey – May 26, 2017
Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb has a plan to tackle high drug prices.
“Simply put, too many patients are priced out of the medicines they need,” Gottlieb said Thursday at the FDA’s budget hearing.
The FDA is responsible for regulating food and drugs. It’s also responsible for regulating medical devices, blood donations, veterinary products, cosmetics, and tobacco. The FDA doesn’t directly play a role in setting drug prices.
Even so, Gottlieb said there are a few main ways he thinks the agency can help.
- By stopping the industry from gaming regulations to get more time without competition beyond what Congress intended.
- Making it more straightforward for complex generic drugs to get to market. Complex drugs are devices like the EpiPen or inhalers that competitors have a hard time getting approved. It’s something Gottlieb has been advocating for for years.
- Getting through of the backlog of generic drug applications.
