WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, TOM VARCO
While many doctors, researchers, and investors believe that the European Medical Agency approves new cancer drugs before the US Food and Drug Administration, that assumption is simply not true, according to a study published last week in Health Affairs. In fact, all 23 new oncology meds approved in Europe and the United States between 2003 and 2010 hit the US market before they become available to European patients, the study revealed. Drugmakers tended to submit their treatments for approval to the FDA before the EMA, and the average review period in the United States took only about 6 months, compared to nearly a year in Europe.
"To patients battling cancer, with no treatment options, access to new medicines five-and-a-half months sooner is a very important ...
