After conducting its 2017 review of FDA policies and procedures and financial records related to the FDA’s use of prescription drug user fee collections, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) concluded that, overall, the FDA spent prescription drug user fee collections appropriately. Since the passage of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) of 1992 (P.L. 102-571), prescription drug user fees have significantly helped in expediting the drug approval process and eliminating backlogs of pending human drug applications. The average approval time for an application prior to the PDUFA was two years (OIG Report, A-05-16-00040, September 2017).
The PDUFA
The PDUFA, which must be reauthorized by Congress every five years, authorizes the FDA to collect user fees from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that are seeking FDA approval of certain human drug and biological products to expedite the review of human drug applications. The user fees provide the FDA with resources, including the ability to hire more reviewers and support staff and upgrade information technology systems. According to the OIG, these resources help the FDA meet its goal of timely review of human drug and supplement applications.
Inadequate documentation
The OIG reviewed $796,065,980 in prescription drug user fees reported for October 1, 2014, through September 30, 2015, and determined that the FDA did not have adequate supporting documentation for $6,402 in travel expenses, made a duplicate payment for airfare of $1,213, and overpaid a traveler $587. The OIG attributed the inadequate documentation to oversight by FDA staff rather than a systemic issue. Therefore, the OIG made no recommendations.
