The overzealous policies of the Food and Drug Administration have pushed the time and costs of drug development to stratospheric levels. It's time for a sweeping reform. Henry I. Miller is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution. But this action is disingenuous.
Prescription drugs are expensive, to be sure.
Drug regulation, a monopoly of the FDA since the precursor of the present regulatory scheme was established in 1938, has become overkill and actually threatens public health. Recent surveys of physicians in various medical specialties reveal that the FDA compromises their ability to give patients the best care and actually costs lives. Overzealous drug regulation by the FDA actually threatens public health. There is a broad consensus among those who study or interact with the FDA that the agency currently imposes more regulation of pharmaceuticals than is necessary and sufficient. Studies over more than 40 years have repeatedly identified the same problems and suggested similar solutions.