Search

This paper examines the role of sex in the drug approval process. Medical literature has explored in great depth the many ways in which men and women differ, sometimes dramatically, often in ways that are seemingly unrelated to the physical, anatomical distinctions between the two sexes. After years of intentionally excluding women from critical phases of clinical drug trials, the FDA formally reversed such policies in the 1990s. A number of prescription drugs recently removed from the market disproportionately harmed women as compared to men. Loopholes in the current system have perpetuated the drug approval process’s inadequate consideration for the needs of women, thereby subjecting them to a higher level of risk. Efforts to correct for the lack of drug trials aimed to ensure the safety and efficacy for pediatric patients are also reviewed to provide a contrast. While the intentional biases in the system have been addressed, the current drug approval process fails to provide women with the same degree of protection as it does men. A number of issues remain requiring additional study and consideration before a complete solution can be proposed.

Over the past decade, the infant biotechnology industry, led by small biotechnology companies, has produced numerous breakthrough drugs which have saved lives, reduced suffering and cut the cost of health care. Given that the biopharmaceutical industry has only been in existence for a little over 20 years, biotechnology holds enormous potential for the advancement of medical treatments. Unfortunately, even with biotechnology, as with the more traditional methods of drug development, the government mandated testing and approval of new therapeutic products takes a considerable amount of time and costs an exorbitant amount of money. The United States has the most demanding drug approval process in the world. Under the current Food and Drug Administration's drug approval process, the time required to gain approval for new drugs averages between 10 to 12 years and the cost approximates $350 million. In addition, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has come under attack as taking too conservative of an approach to approving beneficial new drugs. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of this costly drug approval process on small biotechnology companies, to determine the effects of a decline in small biotechnology companies on the United States and to analyze current proposals to change the current Food and Drug Administration's drug approval process to ensure the survival of small biotechnology companies. Part II of this paper identifies the various stages of the drug approval process. Part III explores the policy behind the FDA's extensive drug approval process. Part IV examines the adverse affects of the drug approval process on small biotechnology companies. Part V analyzes the effect of a declining biotechnology industry on the United States. Part VI addresses current proposals to change the FDA drug approval process focusing on their ability to help small biotechnology companies.