The Trump administration approved a record number of generic drugs during the president’s first year in office, according to a report from the Department of Health and Human Services.
The report, which touted the agency’s accomplishments during President Trump’s first year in office, noted that the Food and Drug Administration approved 1,027 generic drugs in a single year, more than any other single year in the agency’s history. The total surpasses the 2016 record of 800 approvals.
Scott Gottlieb, FDA commissioner, says he has been working to allow drugs to enter the market faster as a way to lower costs and provide more options for patients.
The report also cited $800 million in funding sent to communities to combat the opioid crisis, and the withdrawal of 70 regulations.
The opioid funding went toward prevention and treatment, overdose-reversing drugs, and funding medical research on pain and addiction. The Trump administration has said it will add to these efforts when funds are appropriated from Congress.
“In 2017, HHS took bold action to advance its mission to protect and enhance the health and well-being of the American people,” said Caitlin Oakley, HHS press secretary. “From a newly aggressive approach to combat the opioid crisis to round-the-clock responses to three major hurricanes, the men and women of HHS did extraordinary work this past year to foster healthier Americans, stronger communities and a safer country.”
The agency also faced a setback in 2017 after its former secretary, Tom Price, resigned when it was discovered he had been using government-funded charter jets for travel. The Senate confirmed Alex Azar to be the new secretary this week.
The Trump administration-backed healthcare bills, which would have repealed or overhauled parts of Obamacare, also failed to pass. Democrats repeatedly accused the agency of trying to “sabotage” Obamacare in the way it carried out the law.
But the agency touted its handling of Obamacare’s open enrollment, the time during which customers who buy their own health insurance can sign up for coverage.
“Ending in December, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services conducted a successful, consumer-friendly open enrollment period at significantly lower cost than in previous years, attracting similar levels of enrollment with more focused investments in marketing,” officials said in the document.
