STAT+: Many patient, consumer reps on FDA advisory panels have ties to groups funded by pharma, analysis finds

Nearly 40% of Food and Drug Administration advisory committee meetings held over the past 20 years included patient or consumer representatives who had ties to advocacy groups funded by pharmaceutical companies, according to a new analysis. In several committees, this number surpassed 50%. Moreover, over one in 10 advisory committee meetings featured representatives affiliated with organizations that received funding from the drugmaker whose medication was being evaluated by the committees.

However, most of these organizational ties remained undisclosed during the meetings, prompting concerns about voting behavior. The analysis, published in Health Affairs Scholar, pointed out that the FDA has well-established conflict-of-interest policies for its scientific advisory committee members. However, policies concerning patient and consumer representatives seem less developed, particularly regarding industry funding of advocacy groups whose members serve on these committees.