FDA commissioner wants to expedite drug approvals

Speaking before a congressional committee in the US House of Representatives, US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb confirmed Thursday that his agency is honing in on new ways to approve certain drugs faster.

In particular, he suggested the increased use of surrogate endpoints might be an appropriate basis for a green light under the Accelerated Approval scheme.

“With the advent of more targeted medicines, we’re sometimes able to observe earlier, and in some cases, outsized benefits,” he said, adding: “This is especially true when it comes to the field of oncology.”