Patients Getting More Say in Drug Development Under FDA Plan

Taking patients’ needs into account during new drug development might be easier after the FDA issued June 12 the first of four guides on how to do so.

The long-awaited draft guidance document rollout will reveal how the agency thinks drugmakers such as Pfizer Inc., Biogen Inc., and Eli Lilly and Co. can capture patients’ experiences and perspectives as they develop new products. It’s been a key priority for the FDA and patient advocates, who say it’s necessary to take into account what patients think in order to develop treatments that will benefit them the most.