FDA new drug approvals more than doubled in 2017

By Rebecca Trager2018-01-26T11:52:00

FDA Building 21 stands behind the sign at the FDA campus main entrance and houses the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Source: © United States Government

The FDA approved 46 new drugs last year – the highest number in over two decades – due to factors like streamlined policies at the agency

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 46 new drugs in 2017, which is the highest number in 21 years and more than twice the number approved in 2016. From 2008 through 2016, the agency has pushed through the door on average about 31 novel drugs per year – the previous record was 53 approvals in 1996.