FDA drug approval affects healthcare around the world, but political shortcuts could hurt the agency’s international reputation

At the beginning of July 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first gene therapy for young children with sickle cell disease. While this is good news for children in the U.S. born with this illness, the FDA’s approval may also benefit thousands of children beyond the U.S. border. About 70% of countries around the world have underdeveloped regulatory drug approval processes. So most rely, in whole or in part, on reviews conducted by agencies that the World Health…