The time it takes the FDA to approve drugs and medical devices is improving, according to a PricewaterhouseCooper report, the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society reported.
In 2012 it took the agency half the time, seven months, for premarket approval applications than it did three years earlier in 2009, when it took 14 months, according to the report.
The PricewaterhouseCooper report, "The FDA and industry: A recipe for collaborating in the New Health Economy," explained that as a result, new products are reaching customers more quickly.
But, one problem, according to the article is consistency.
"For devices, for example, FDA actually got worse since 2008, when it approved devices subject to priority review in just 6 months," according to the article. "A year later, it approved those devices in 16 months. As of 2012, it approved them in 8 months—still higher than its 2008 average."
