NPR: FDA Dangles Golden Ticket To Spur Drugs For Neglected Diseases
“…[T]he approval of the leishmaniasis drug, Impavido, came with a coupon that the company [that produces the drug] can redeem to have any drug it likes moved toward the front of FDA’s line for review. It’s only the fourth time that a drugmaker has won one of these, and it could become the first to be auctioned off. The vouchers were created as an incentive to encourage drug companies to work on medicines for neglected diseases, such as leishmaniasis…” (Hensley, 5/16).