- Blog
- News & Media
- Issues
- About The Biopharmaceutical Sector
- Access and Affordability
- Adherence
- Appropriate Use Of Medicines
- Counterfeit Drugs
- Disaster Response
- Drug Safety
- Environmental Issues
- Food And Drug Administration
- Importation
- Intellectual Property
- International
- Medical Advances
- Medicare
- Prescription Drug Abuse
- Prescription Drug User Fee Act
- Sales And Marketing
- Value of Medicines
- Research
- About
Did you know...
There are more than 10,000 prescription medicines available today, and each of them has gone through extensive scientific testing and analysis in order to make sure they are safe and effective for patients. As a result, these medicines are helping patients like you lead productive, healthier lives.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for assessing the efficacy and safety of drugs before they reach patients. Most experts regard FDA’s extensive review process as the world’s best. In fact, only about 3 percent of all FDA-approved prescription medicines have been withdrawn from the market for safety reasons over the last 20 years.
In addition, drug manufacturers, the FDA, and the medical community work together to monitor the safety of prescription drugs long after the FDA approves them for the general patient population. Multi-year studies involving thousands of patients are conducted on many prescription drugs, and the safety monitoring continues as long as the drug is on the market.
Did You Know…
- Pharmaceutical companies spent more than $55 billion in 2006 alone testing the safety and effectiveness of new medicines?
- As a result of rigorous testing and safety/efficacy requirements, only one in every 5,000 potential medicines makes it to the patient population?
- By the time a new medicine is made available to patients, its safety and effectiveness have been demonstrated in thousands of patients in a series of carefully controlled clinical studies over a 10-15 year period?
- For the first three years a drug is on the market, its manufacturer is required to provide safety reports every three months to the FDA?
- Pharmaceutical companies pay fees to submit drug applications, giving the FDA millions of dollars to double its drug evaluation staff, modernize its information technology systems, and enhance long-term safety monitoring of medicines?
