Pharmaceutical regulatory news updates are important documents (often referred to as FDA notices) that outline the latest on the status of certain pharmaceutical products. These updates will be posted on the FDA's website, and will also be sent out via regular mail to all registered pharmacies and healthcare organizations. This is important, because these notifications allow pharmaceutical reps and other interested parties to keep abreast of new drug approvals and actions that might affect their ability to sell or distribute a particular product. Below are some of the most recent updates on pharmaceutical regulation and compliance.

 

First, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released what is called an "Ongoing New Drug Approval". This essentially means that a new drug application for a new drug has not yet been approved, but the FDA has approved the first draft of the plan to submit for market approval. The purpose of this update is to give companies an extended period of time to get the information in place before the final approval date. For the pharmaceutical industry, this is seen as a good thing, because it means that new drugs can stay on the market for longer periods of time, thus potentially allowing the company to see more profits off of each new drug.

 

Second, the FDA notified all pharmaceutical companies that they will be required to provide full disclosure on all of their new drug applications. This means that any time a company submits a new drug application, it will have to disclose any relevant safety or effectiveness data, both of which are subject to review by the FDA. This  pharmaceutical quality control update is, arguably, the largest step towards tighter pharmaceutical regulation in years; by requiring companies to openly share such information, the FDA is hoping to create greater transparency within the pharmaceutical industry, which is seen as one of the leading causes of recent conflicts over regulations and enforcement.

 

Third, the FDA notified the manufacturers of the three most commonly prescribed drugs that must be approved using clinical trials. These drugs are Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra. The requirement of these drugs to undergo clinical trials is designed to allow researchers to monitor the safety and effectiveness of the drugs before they are approved for sale. If these drugs were not to undergo such rigorous requirements, there is a strong chance that many of them would never be approved for distribution in the US. However, the FDA states that such requirements are necessary due to the complexity of the drug, and the fact that many health problems require close monitoring and treatment. In addition, the process of approving these drugs will likely be a lengthy and expensive one.

 

Lastly, the FDA posted its notice concerning a plan to make drug approval faster and more efficient. According to this plan, the FDA will be able to approve drugs within a shorter period of time, and will be required to approve drugs based upon the clinical data available rather than on the basis of manufacturer statements. While the FDA notes that the changes do not affect the power of drug reviews, they are seen as positive moves toward speeding up the drug approval process and providing patients with higher quality medications.

 

However, pharmaceutical industry analysts have pointed out that although the new FDA measures appear to be well-meaning, the changes will not be effective. In fact, many analysts say that the FDA's actions are actually detrimental to the pharmaceutical market. They point out that the requirement that companies provide clinical data on their drugs for review purposes, will force pharmaceutical firms to lose money by not improving the efficacy of their drugs. In addition, the FDA's plan to speed up the drug approval process might force generic products to compete directly with the patented versions, pushing prices even higher. Here is a post with a general information about this topic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmaceutical_industry.