More of the Same: Kennedy’s FDA Continues Big Pharma Corruption

Back in February, newly-confirmed Secretary of Health and & Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised to reverse decades of industry capture of the public health agencies. Yet, recent moves by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) strongly suggest more of the same: faster approvals with less evidence of safety and effectiveness resulting in exorbitant, ill-gotten Big Pharma profits.

Calling institutions like the FDA sock puppets for industry, Kennedy has spent years railing against how powerful pharmaceutical companies work with the federal government to corrupt the drug approval process.

These criticisms are correct. The agency has been institutionally corrupted by the drug companies it is meant to regulate. Every former FDA commissioner except one since the 1980s has gone on to work for the pharmaceutical industry. Around half of the agency’s budget comes from those very drug companies in the form of user fees, and the same is true for two-thirds of its budget for human drugs.

Companies don’t just pay the agencies, they actively negotiate with agency officials to give higher payments in exchange for regulatory favors. They enjoy immense leverage; user fee funding sunsets every five years, which means that failed negotiations can lead to the FDA facing financial catastrophe.