Getting new drugs to market safely

摘要

REGULATORS are constantly evaluating the risks and benefits of new medicines before allowing them on the market. Drugs are sometimes withdrawn because of safety issues. Well known cases include the COX-2 selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug rofecoxib in 2004, and the diabetes therapy rosiglitazone in 2010. But are medicines safer than they were, say, 10 years ago?