A FASTer FDA?

A new bill recently debated in the US Congress seeks to streamline the approval process for drugs.

Written byBob Grant

| 2 min read

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WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, TIBOR KADEK

The Faster Access to Specialized Treatments (FAST) Act made its debut on the floor of the US House of Representatives earlier this month. The bill is seeking to extend fast-tracked drug approvals beyond HIV/AIDS and cancer drugs, which already benefit from legislation that have increased investment, shortened timeframes, and decreased burdens of proof for garnering US Food and Drug Administration approval.

The FDA is cautioning patience because in order to accelerate the approval of drugs that treat Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, diabetes, and other diseases, scientifically meaningful clinical endpoints must first be established to ensure that the right safety and efficacy data is be submitted and evaluated. "We agree with the sentiment behind [the FAST Act] but have to avoid inadvertently lowering the efficacy standard," said director ...

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Meet the Author

Bob Grant
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From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer. Before joining the team, he worked as a reporter at Audubon and earned a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University. In his previous life, he pursued a career in science, getting a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Montana State University and a master’s degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Bob edited Reading Frames and other sections of the magazine.
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