Previously, I knew very little about the FDA, except for it made sure that drugs were safe for humans before marketing. Besides that, I thought it was a government institution funded by taxpayers. In a way, I thought that the FDA was St. George protecting the people from the mighty dragon- Big Pharma. I was wrong.
What I have found out since becoming interested in vaccinations, is that the FDA used to be completely taxpayer-funded. However, they have moved from this model to being increasingly funded by user fees from the companies of the products that they are testing. Since this change took effect, the FDA saw an increase in drugs passing the first time around from 38% in 2005 to 61% in 2018. In the case where there are very few drugs for treating specif diseases, the FDA has a first-time approval rating of 89%.
While the speed at which the FDA has been improving thanks to the funding by the bodies that it is regulating, there has also been an increase in the number of drugs that are proven dangerous after approval.
Just being a regular taxpaying citizen, I think that I can see a problem with the current method of FDA funding coming from the people they are supposed to be regulating. This is not the natural progression that science normally makes where one thing is accepted until science disproves it. The FDA has the power to overturn scientific conclusions when deemed necessary. Should science even be overturned? Why would science ever be overturned, it's science, right? For example, asbestos was used as a miracle product until the association between asbestos and lung disease. In this case, it was a natural progression of understanding. The point which I am trying to make with Big Pharma funding the FDA is that it is creating a situation where money can influence and cause drugs to receive a safe pass when they need more testing or they are not safe. You can check the Vioxx scandal here or other problems with the FDA here.
The FDA has the power to overturn scientific conclusions when deemed necessary. Should science even be overturned? Why would science ever be overturned, it's science, right? However, by speeding up the approval time and allowing possibly dangerous drugs on the market, they are creating windfalls for drug manufacturers. There is also the well-known revolving door between the FDA and Big Pharma. Do you see something wrong with this?
Let me know what you think.
