Is the FDA Too Cautious?
Topics: Health
Public Release Date: June 23, 2023
This programming was produced in partnership with the Aspen Ideas Festival as a live recording on June 23, 2023.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Atlantic criticized the US Food and Drug Administration for moving too slowly to approve vaccines with the provocative headline “The Death Toll of Delay.” Not long before, National Public Radio ran a piece titled “One-Third of New Drugs Had Safety Problems After FDA Approval.”
As the agency tries to move safe and effective drugs as quickly as possible to patients who need them, it also needs to maintain the diligence and rigor necessary to prevent harm. Two experts look at the pace of FDA approvals and argue about whether the agency is getting it right.
ARGUING YES:
Colin Hill: CEO & Co-Founder of Aitia
ARGUING NO:
Peter Lurie: Physician, President of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and former Associate Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration
MODERATOR-IN-CHIEF:
John Donvan: Emmy award-winning journalist