Debating cost-benefit regulation

WASHINGTON - Federal Trade Commission staff have warned the FDA that the drug agency's interest in regulating cost-benefit claims about drugs through controlled clinical trials could threaten the creation of information the health care system needs to control costs.

The government's chief watchdog against deceptive advertising practices, which has had primary responsibility for policing over-the-counter drugs under a 1971 agreement with the FDA, also warned that the FDA's approach could produce data of little practical utility while stifling the flow of pharmacoeconomic data created by health care providers...