FDA FOIA Monitor
68,274 FDA FOIA Requests.
Here's What They Tell Us.
In this inaugural edition of FDA FOIA Monitor, we're setting the baseline against every future change. Volume trends, processing times, requester behavior, and document-type patterns — we've analyzed every closed FDA FOIA request from 2020 through May 2026 to establish this standard. Bookmark it. In future issues, we'll highlight notable deviations.
The Month in Numbers
| Metric | May 2026 | May 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Requests Closed | 856 | 851 | +0.6% |
| Median Processing Time | 55 days | 45 days | +22% |
| Release Rate | 66% | 76% | −13% |
| Avg Processing Time | 185 days | 123 days | +50% |
| Withdrawals | 124 | 142 | −13% |
| Formal Denials | 0 | 9 | — |
Processing Times Are Rising. Fast.
Median close times climbed steadily since 2024. The 2026 YTD median across all doc types now sits at — or above — levels last seen in 2022. Practitioners with time-sensitive needs should pay special attention to two categories...
Bar length proportional to 2026 YTD median. Green = fastest track. Red = significant delay.
Who Files FDA FOIA — and How They Do It
Of the 68,274 requests in the dataset, commercial FOIA services dominate volume with 25% of all filings. But the most striking trend stems from News / Media requests, which grew 190% from 2020 to 2025, and surged 169% in 2024 alone.
| Category | Total | % of All | Median Days | Release Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Commercial FOIA Services FDACzilla · Redica · FOI Services |
16,958 | 24.8% | 28 | 83.8% |
| Regulated Industry | 11,871 | 17.4% | 34 | 73.5% |
| Individual / Citizen | 7,472 | 10.9% | 34 | 66.9% |
| Law Firms | 4,714 | 6.9% | 50 | 68.0% |
|
News / Media Capitol Forum · Bloomberg · STAT · Daily Signal |
4,541 | 6.6% | 32 | 69.3% |
| Academic / Research | 2,235 | 3.3% | 29 | 73.5% |
| Government | 51 | 0.1% | 83 | 91.7% |
With 703 GLP-1 Requests, 2026 Set to Break Record.
GLP-1 FOIA requests have grown from 4 in 2020 to a pace that will exceed 2024's record by year's end. FAERS reports (217 requests), agency correspondence (98), and NDA review files (76) are the most-requested doc types in this category.
2025 figure reflects requests closed in calendar year 2025. Many 2025-filed GLP-1 requests remain pending.
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 the supply chain and commercial angle. The Hunterbrook Media request on BLP Labs compounding-enforcement was released after 695 days.
Top 20 Most-Referenced Products, Companies & Topics
We drew these counts from the Title field of all 68,274 requests — the most complete signal in the dataset. Names are normalized (e.g. Novo Nordisk Inc. = Novo Nordisk) and variant spellings are merged. GLP-1 drugs are grouped by INN to capture all branded references.
Watch List — Products With Significant FOIA Activity
| Product / Term | Category | First FOIA Yr | All Time | 2024 | 2026 YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| semaglutide | GLP-1 | 2021 | 262 | 160 | — |
| Syfovre | Ophthalmology | 2023 | 295 | 117 | — |
| Catalent | CMO / Enforcement | 2020 | 290 | 39 | — |
| Izervay | Ophthalmology | 2023 | 167 | 108 | — |
| JUUL | Tobacco / E-Cig | 2020 | 99 | 13 | — |
| Capricor | Cell Therapy / Rare | 2025 | 13 | 0 | — |
| ivermectin | Policy / COVID-era | 2020 | 60 | 11 | — |
| naloxone | Opioid / OTC | 2020 | 44 | 9 | — |
Product Tracker counts pull from the Title column across all records. Subscriber access includes the live spreadsheet with formula-based tracking.
Request Volume by Year
9,117
8,698
8,942
10,469
13,403
11,434
