According to a report by Shreema Mehta in The New Standard, published in August 2007, states that although companies are required to submit their advertisements to the FDA, "the agency does not review them before they are released to the public." Actually, according to a report from a Government Accountability Office, the FDA only reviews a small portion of these submitted drug advertisements with an inconsistent criteria that is followed to determine whether it meets FDA approval.
With the challenges that the FDA has received regarding drug advertisements, the FDA is now going through Congress in hopes that they will begin to charge drug companies to help fund the FDA approval process. If this is passed, FDA is believing that they will be receiving $6 million from these drug companies. It is hopeful that with these additional funds coming into the FDA, that the process of approval will be stricter, making it harder for companies to find their way around the already standing laws and regulations.
While the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) turns a blind eye, drug companies are making false, unsubstantiated, and misleading claims in their advertising, often withholding mandated disclosure of dangerous side effects. Though companies are required to submit their advertisements to the FDA, the agency does not review them before they are released to the public. A Government Accountability Office report released November 2006 found that the FDA reviews only a small portion of the advertisements it receives, and does not review them using consistent criteria.automateandvalidate
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