FDA FOIA Monitor
Updated 9/15/26: This baseline now reflects data through August 2026. Wait times shifted further in several doc types since the last revision, most notably FSVP and agency Correspondence, both now dramatically slower than previously reported. This update also reflects a broader data-quality pass across the historical log: several thousand records were reclassified or deduplicated, most visibly shifting 2024's closed-request count from 13,394 to 11,638. All figures below, including prior-year comparisons, reflect the corrected data. The requester landscape and top-hits figures have also been refreshed.
66,176 Closed FDA FOIA Requests.
Here Is What They Tell Us.
This special edition establishes the baseline: every FDA FOIA request on file from 2012 through August 2026, analyzed for volume trends, processing times, requester behavior, and document type patterns. 72,509 requests are on file in total; 6,333 remain open and are not yet closed. The figures below reflect closed requests only unless noted. Bookmark it. Monthly issues will mark movement against this foundation.
Processing Times Are Rising. Fast.
2026 median close times, measured year-to-date against 2024. Every doc type tracked here has gotten slower this year except EIR and 510(k); FSVP and agency Correspondence in particular have gone from minor concerns to major ones.
Bar length (in block characters) proportional to 2026 YTD median, scaled to PMTA's 652-day median. Trend compares each doc type's 2024 full-year median to its 2026 YTD median.
Who Files FDA FOIA, and How They Do It
Of the 72,509 requests on file, commercial FOIA services still dominate volume at 30.9% of all filings, just ahead of individual/citizen requesters at 28.0%. The most striking trend remains news media: outlets grew requests 211% from 2020 to 2025 (285 to 885), including 130% growth in 2024 alone (461 to 1,061). 2026 is already on pace to pass 2025 outright, with 793 news/media closings through August alone.
| Category | Total | % of All | Median Days | Release Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial FOIA Services | 22,381 | 30.9% | 22 | 84.3% |
| Individual / Citizen | 20,314 | 28.0% | 28 | 65.5% |
| Regulated Industry | 16,304 | 22.5% | 25 | 70.7% |
| Law Firms | 6,035 | 8.3% | 37 | 64.9% |
|
News / Media Capitol Forum · Bloomberg · Daily Signal |
4,844 | 6.7% | 29 | 64.8% |
| Academic / Research | 1,942 | 2.7% | 26 | 70.8% |
| Advocacy / NGO | 530 | 0.7% | 37 | 65.1% |
| Government | 97 | 0.1% | 4 | 31.8% |
561 GLP-1 Requests Closed Since 2020. 2024 Remains the Peak Year.
GLP-1 FOIA requests grew steadily from 2020 through the 2024 peak, then eased in 2025 as some of that year's filings remain in the pending queue rather than closed. 2026 volume is already running slightly ahead of 2025's full-year pace with four months still to close, though a portion of this year's requests are also still open. Of the 561 total, 304 (54%) have been fully released. FAERS reports are the single most-requested doc type (213), followed by agency correspondence (86), NDA review files (77), and ANDA files (42).
Bar length (in block characters) proportional to count, scaled to 2024's peak of 273. Figures reflect requests closed in each calendar year; 2026 YTD is through August. A meaningful share of 2025- and 2026-filed GLP-1 requests remain pending and will show up in later years' totals as they close.
Notable: Bloomberg's 2024 request for GLP-1 drug communications with food and beverage companies (closed after 705 days with "No Records") signals investigative appetite for supply chain and commercial angle. The Hunterbrook Media request on BPI Labs / Belcher Pharma compounding enforcement released after 695 days.
Top 20 Most-Referenced Companies & Products/Topics
Companies are counted from the Company field (populated on about 25% of requests). Lines marked "(all entities)" combine every spelling variant of that company into one count. Products/topics are counted from a text search of the Title field, which is why some names, like Infant Formula or Fresenius, rank high on the right without appearing on the left.
TOP 20 COMPANIES
TOP 20 PRODUCTS / TOPICS
Watch List: Products With Significant FOIA Activity
| Product / Term | Category | First FOIA Yr | All Time | 2024 | 2026 YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| semaglutide | GLP-1 | 2021 | 271 | 156 | 44 |
| Syfovre | Ophthalmology | 2023 | 295 | 113 | 3 |
| Catalent | CMO / Enforcement | 2020 | 305 | 37 | 48 |
| Izervay | Ophthalmology | 2023 | 167 | 107 | 2 |
| JUUL | Tobacco / E-Cig | 2020 | 101 | 12 | 4 |
| Capricor | Cell Therapy / Rare | 2025 | 13 | 0 | 2 |
| ivermectin | Policy / COVID-era | 2020 | 61 | 9 | 1 |
| naloxone | Opioid / OTC | 2020 | 45 | 8 | 3 |
Product Tracker pulls from the Title column. Subscriber access includes the live spreadsheet with formula-based tracking. Add any term to auto-populate counts.
Request Volume by Year
Bar length (in block characters) proportional to count, scaled to 2024's peak of 11,638. 2026 YTD (7,657 closed through August) is a partial year and shown without a bar; 6,333 more requests across all years remain open.
A Baseline, Not a Snapshot
This special edition is meant to be evergreen: the full historical picture behind the FDA FOIA Monitor, not a single month's numbers. New subscribers can start here to understand the shape of the dataset before reading a monthly issue.