"I was simply given a legal pill called Levaquin and now it's ruined my life,'' said former pharmaceutical sales rep John Fratti.
He took the drug Levaquin for an infection. He went from charging the basketball court to barely being able to walk. "I've now been diagnosed with suffering from Levaquin-induced brain damage, damage to my nerves, damage to my tendons."
Less than a year ago the FDA mandated the makers of the drug put a black box warning on the prescription for tendinitis and tendon rupture.
Americans are 10 times more likely to be hospitalized from an adverse drug reaction than from a car crash.
Drug reactions are the fourth leading cause of death in the country.
User fees are a huge problem with the drug approval process. That's money drug companies pay the FDA to get their products reviewed and put on the market.
President of the Alliance for a stronger FDA, Steve Grossman says some level of funding from the drug companies is necessary because the agency can't survive on the current federal budget.
"The FDA needs about a $100 million increase just to break even with the program level that they've had the year before."
There's one safety issue that both the industry and activists agree needs attention -- drugs made overseas. In 2007 43-percent of plants were in China, but inspectors visited less than 3 percent of them.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled people who are hurt by an FDA approved drug still have the right to sue the drug company.
