Chris Viehbacher has become an outspoken voice since taking the helm at chairman of the board for PhRMA. His latest comments are aimed at the FDA, claiming that the pharmaceutical industry may stop investing in medicines to treat diseases like diabetes or obesity without more explicit guidelines from Rockville.
What Viehbacher sees happening is companies focusing on specialized treatments for cancer, where it is clear patients and the FDA are willing to accept serious side-effects in exchange for potentially life-saving treatments. However, there is a trade-off. “You’re starting to see primary care diseases becoming somewhat neglected,” said Viehbacher. “To make sure we’re not ignoring unmet needs in primary care, we need a lot more clarity around the risk-benefit so there’s predictability when we invest in these products.”
Over the past year, the FDA has drawn fire from some manufacturers for being too cautious in reviewing medical products, hindering U.S. innovation. Bristol Myers Squibb had its latest diabetes treatment spurned this week with another from Amylin & Alkermes set to come next week. In addition, early this year the next obesity drug from Vivus will come up for a final FDA decision, in the wake of earlier applications from Arena & Orexigen that have been unsuccessful.
(Video from PhRMA11 Conference)
