US drug companies will meet more than half the cost of drug approval

The US Food and Drug Administration and the drug companies it regulates have reached a tentative agreement to increase the fees the companies pay to the FDA—in return for speedier reviews of drug and medical devices.

Although a portion of the increase is to be earmarked for safety monitoring, consumer groups question whether there is an inherent conflict of interests at play, because much of the FDA's funding now comes from the industry it regulates, rather than from an independent third party. Dr Sidney Wolfe, of the consumer group …