The FDA is funded mostly by the pharmaceutical companies themselves -- a bit of a conflict of interest, wouldn't you say?

"For the first 86 years of FDA's existence, from 1906-1992, all of FDA's funding came through the U.S. Treasury. In other words, everyone -- industry, people -- paid their taxes, and FDA got appropriations out of the budget.

Starting in 1992, unfortunately, a law was passed that said for a large proportion of the work done by the FDA on new drug applications, the money's going to come directly, quid pro quo, from the industry. If they want a drug reviewed, they pay directly to the FDA to have the drug reviewed."

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/prescription/hazard/independent.html