More than half of new drugs in Germany lack proof of added benefit over existing treatments. International drug development processes and policies are responsible and must be reformed, the BMJ reports.
“Medicines regulators around the world are pursuing a strategy aimed at accelerating the development and approval of drugs. These approaches are based on the assumption that faster access to new drugs benefits patients. The rhetoric of novelty and innovation creates an assumption that new products are better than existing ones.
But although gaps in the therapeutic armamentarium undoubtedly exist, research covering drug approvals since the 1970s suggests only a limited number of new drugs provide real advances over existing drugs. Most studies put the proportion of true innovation at under 15%, with no clear improvement over time.”
… continue reading on The BMJ, 10 July 2019.