Jill Wechsler

Jill Wechsler is the Washington Editor for Pharmaceutical Executive and writes about federal government policies and programs that affect the pharmaceutical industry. Her monthly Washington Report discusses legislative proposals, FDA initiatives and actions by other government agencies, including Medicare pharmacy benefit proposals, federal investigations related to pharmaceutical company marketing, debate over DTC advertising, generic drug competition, over-the-counter initiatives, among other topics. She has written for PE for more than ten years and also covers Washington for other Advanstar publications, including Pharmaceutical Technology, Applied Clinical Trials, BioPharm, Managed Healthcare Executive and Formulary. Prior to that she reported on government policies and a wide range of topics for business and consumer publications.

All the focus on drug safety raises concerns about FDA delays in approving new drugs for market.

Pharma steps up development of new vaccines and treatments to combat Third World diseases

Pressure to expand healthcare puts drug pricing, marketing, and innovation on the negotiating table.

Collins seeks to parlay genomic discoveries into new biomedical therapies. Comparative effectiveness research, he says, should identify subpopulation responses to treatment and support personalized medicine.

As FDA looks to balance risks and benefits, more regulations are on the horizon.

FDA is seeking more resources to support compliance and oversight.

Marketers fear a Catch-22 if they have to write research summaries that FDA considers illegal promotion.

Pharma fears comparative effectiveness research will focus on costs and stymie personalized medicine.

In addition to overhauling healthcare, Congress is weighing proposals for updating FDA policies and expanding access to drugs.