FDA on pace to approve 18 drugs in 2008

WASHINGTON The year 2008 will see the Food and Drug Administration approve 18 new drugs, according to reports.

The drugs will include Wyeth’s antidepressant Pristiq, Cephalon’s leukemia drug Treanda and UCB’s drug for Crohn’s disease, Cimzia, which have already been approved.

Last year, the agency approved 18 new molecular entities, drugs in which the active ingredient had not been used previously in an FDA-approved drug, compared to 22 in 2006.