The online poll questioned 2,500 adults who lived in the United States and was conducted by Harris Interactive for The Wall Street Journal. The poll recorded that half of the people believe that the FDA is doing what is necessary to ensure that prescription drugs are both safe and effective.

Despite its good markings on safety, only 4 out of 10 believe that the agency is bringing truly new and innovative products to the market.

According to PharmaGossip, There are moves afoot to give the agency new powers, notably through the provisions that were recently passed by the US Senate as part of the Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act, which gives it the ability to issue fines to drug makers if they fail to do follow-up safety studies or use false or misleading advertising.

The Senate also passed legislation that would establish electronic networks to scan medical and prescription drug records for indications of drug safety issues. However, the Harris survey says that "the public's perceptions of these initiatives, on the whole, are ambivalent at best," but half of the adults polled are confident that that these oversight mechanisms would help improve drug safety.

The Pharma Times states that only one in five surveyed believe that the new measures taken by the FDA will result in affective changes.

The FDA needs to begin to implement changes and lead with actions. Years and years of empty promises and screw-ups have left the American public skeptical. Talk is cheap, the only way to truly win over the American public is to show them you are serious about change.

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