The ongoing government shutdown could have already had an impact on the Food and Drug Administration’s decision-making abilities, with some experts saying new, innovative drugs could be delayed, pharmaphorum reports.
“In a very grim view of this, there are lives that are going to be lost because patients won’t get access to these drugs,” Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development Director Kenneth Kaitin said during an interview with CNN.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb says while the agency has funds squirreled away for situations like a shutdown, there remains only about five weeks worth of backup money.
“We’ve had to make hard decisions in the last month to preserve key functions to maintain our critical consumer protection role,” he told CNBC. “We are in uncharted territory. This is a watershed moment in the life of this agency.”
