ion, the FDA now allows qualified experts outside the government to review certain routine applications with the act of Outside Expert Reviews. Distributing the workload reduces the buildup of NDAs the FDA must review each year (FDA Highlights: Speeding Approval 1). But what has caused the FDA to speed up its approval process? Both the public and physicians have been putting pressure on the FDA to quicken drug approval, but congress's influence has been immense as well. Republicans have been pushing for amendments to the FDA's regulatory review policies since they took control of congress in 1994. Though the congress justifies its pressure for a faster approval process by claiming that many patients are suffering and dying while they wait for important drugs to be approved, it seems that they actually have put corporate profits and special interests above the wellbeing of the public (Lewis 144). A swifter approval process helps drug companies get their products on the market faster, which helps them start making big profits sooner. So why does congress seem interested in helping drug companies? The answer all comes down to money. Though the FDA has been trying to find ways to increase their funds through acts like the recently renewed Prescription Drug User Fee Act, which allows the FDA to collect fees from drug companies to help speed the application process, congress has had more than enough financial support from drug manufacturers. Over the last decade, the drug industry has given congress campaign contributions totaling around $28 million (Lewis 146). Many of the legislators on Capitol Hill that are the most critical of the FDA have received a substantial amount of money from pharmaceutical companies. In addition, a number of drug companies have paid for some of the campaign and convention expenses of certain congressmen. It is not unusual for some politicians to be flown around the country in planes owned by drug comp...
