Journalist: The FDA's new requirements for drug approval, which took e

Question

Journalist: The FDA's new requirements for drug approval, which took effect for drugs submitted for approval this year, have already had a marked effect on the public health. The number of new drugs introduced into the market this year has decreased by sixty percent from last year. Clearly, important and necessary treatments, including a newly discovered cancer treatment, are being withheld from the sick this year.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the journalist's argument?

(A) The time required for a drug to gain FDA approval under the old FDA standards was a minimum of three years.
(B) The majority of drugs introduced last year were intended for use in the treatment of non-fatal illnesses.
(C) Many legislators cite the expense of the FDA approval process as the most serious barrier to affordable health care in this country.
(D) Many researchers tout the newly discovered cancer treatment as a possible cure for cancer.
(E) Most drugs developed in the United States are approved for sale in Europe years before they receive approval by the FDA.

AkshdeepS · Answer

Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the journalist's argument?

Conclusion : Important and necessary are being withheld from the sick this year.

Support : The number of new drugs introduced into the market this year has decreased by sixty percent from last year

Weakner : To show that drop in %age of drugs introduced will not affect the critical treatments.

(A) The time required for a drug to gain FDA approval under the old FDA standards was a minimum of three years.
 
Comparison between the two standards does not help.

(B) The majority of drugs introduced last year were intended for use in the treatment of non-fatal illnesses.

Keep it. It shows the percentage calculated as 60% may not affect the critical drugs. What if the %age of drugs for critical treatments remains the same.
  
(C) Many legislators cite the expense of the FDA approval process as the most serious barrier to affordable health care in this country.

Expense is Irrelevant for us in this case.

(D) Many researchers tout the newly discovered cancer treatment as a possible cure for cancer.

Irrelevant.

(E) Most drugs developed in the United States are approved for sale in Europe years before they receive approval by the FDA.

Irrelevant.

Hence B

Archit3110 · Answer

IMO A; 
given in the end ;Clearly, important and necessary treatments, including a newly discovered cancer treatment, are being withheld from the sick this year.
we need to find answer option which weakens this claim with an alternate cause for this reason ...
option A ;The time required for a drug to gain FDA approval under the old FDA standards was a minimum of three years; this gives a different reason for the decrease in the new drugs and weakens the idea that it's the FDA's new requirements & attacks the relevance of the 1 year comparison. 
rest all options are irrelevant..

AkshdeepS · Answer

I missed the word this year while solving the question

. Perhaps a good learning that every word is important in CR.

mview · Answer

Who cares that the FDA takes 3 years with the old rules? How does that compare with the new rules?

thakurarun85 · Answer

This was my answer. Also I have doubt on the number of years approval needed in new FDA's.

PeachSnapple1 · Answer

Tricky question.
(A) The time required for a drug to gain FDA approval under the old FDA standards was a minimum of three years.

Assume that drugs need to wait 3 years for approval. Let's assume that this year is 2021, and our drugs that supposed to be released this year were submitted for proposal in 2018. It might just be the case that the number of proposed drugs in 2018 is less than that of proposed drugs in 2017, and it's not because the FDA withheld drugs due to the new regulation.

For example: 
Assume this year is 2021.
In 2017, 100 drugs were awaited for release in 2020.
In 2018, 40 drugs were awaited for release in 2021.
Therefore, it might be just be the case that there was just not as many drugs to be submitted to the FDA.

Anyway, that is my two cents. If my reasoning is flawed, please let me know.

GMATmona07 · Answer

Hello experts,
Can you please explain how "A" is the correct answer choice??

ttiger21 · Answer

I am confused. What is the correct answer? Some people are saying A and others are saying B . . .

Bunuel · Answer

The Official Answer (OA) is given under the spoiler in the original post, and it's A.

birkin1990 · Answer

I still think it should be B

Question : Clearly, important and necessary treatments, including a newly discovered cancer treatment, are being withheld from the sick this year.

(A) The time required for a drug to gain FDA approval under the old FDA standards was a minimum of three years.
- For all we know all the drugs passed last year and this year have been in the pipeline for 3/4 years.

(B) The majority of drugs introduced last year were intended for use in the treatment of non-fatal illnesses.
- No IMPORTANT AND NECESSARY TREATMENT is being witheld from the sick THIS YEAR, compared to last year.

Please add to the reasoning.

Please give me kudos, i need more kudos.

StenAnsiktet · Answer

"For all we know all the drugs passed last year and this year have been in the pipeline for 3/4 years".
Yes exactly, so the decrease in number of drugs passed this year cannot be due to the new rules.

If you want kudos you'd do better to quote one of the explanations and argue with their reasoning rather than begging.

Anshuman83 · Answer

The reason why B is not the answer is, as per my reasoning, as below:

"The majority of drugs introduced last year were intended for use in the treatment of non-fatal illnesses"

Ok sure, but that only means that there is still a portion of drugs that are for treatment of fatal illnesses that may be under FDA consideration within the new rules. And hence, the FDA's new regulations could be holding back on these drugs hence resulting in the steep drop shown in the statement "decreased by sixty percent".

RiyaJ0032 · Answer

where is the spoiler? there's no spoiler given  Bunuel

can you post the OA here

Bunuel · Answer

Please click one of the buttons: https://gmatclub.com/forum/download/file.php?id=83332 GMAT-Club-Forum-z4i2tc6p.png

Journalist: The FDA's new requirements for drug approval, which took e

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Journalist: The FDA's new requirements for drug approval, which took e

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