Worst of Both Worlds: FDA’s Funding Structure, Corporate Capture, and Political Interference

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a unique funding structure among federal scientific and health agencies. The industries it regulates fund nearly half of its budget. The agency charges companies a user fee for each application for products requiring FDA approval like prescription drugs and medical devices.

Does this non-governmental funding source insulate the FDA from political interference? No, the structure instead harms the agency by opening it up to corporate capture, while still leaving it susceptible to executive overreach and other political harms. Such political and industry pressures have led to FDA approval even when drugs lack efficacy data or fail to meet clinical trial endpoints. Ultimately, this problem is not just about how to fund an agency; it could mean the drugs you take are unsafe or ineffective despite FDA approval.  

The user fees are a relatively recent phenomenon dating back just to the ’90s. During the H.W. Bush Administration’s push for fiscal responsibility, Congress looked for ways to raise revenue and expedite the FDA review process in response to industry concerns...