#22 - The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Must Be True—SN. The correct answer choice is (B)

The stimulus of this problem provides a brief overview of some of the processes surrounding new therapeutic agents. We are told that the FDA regulates the introduction of such agents into the marketplace, but that academic and government research communities engage in the discovery and testing of such agents. The last sentence of the stimulus begins with the necessary condition indicator “Only” and contains the following conditional relationship:

• HP = Help patients T = Transfer
  
  HP T

Stimuli containing conditional reasoning in combination with a Must Be True question stem very frequently produce contrapositive answer choices. As a student, when you see conditional reasoning and then encounter a Must Be True question, you should search the answer choices for a contrapositive, while at the same time avoiding Mistaken Reversals and Mistaken Negations.

Answer choice (A): While the stimulus states that the FDA “regulates the introduction of new therapeutic agents,” there is no information provided to indicate that the FDA regulates those agents thereafter.

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice, which predictably contains the contrapositive of the last sentence of the stimulus:

• T HP

Answer choice (C): The stimulus states that the research community engages in the long process of initial discovery and clinical testing, but the stimulus does not indicate that the research community is responsible for the length of the period.

Answer choice (D): The author does not make a recommendation to the effect that the FDA “should work more closely” with researchers. As this answer fails the Fact Test, it is incorrect.

Answer choice (E): This answer choice is quite attractive, and it is chosen by a high percentage of students. However, this answer choice is a Mistaken Reversal of the last sentence of the stimulus, and is therefore incorrect:

• HP = Help patients T = Transfer
  
  T HP

One question that comes up in relation to this question is, “Do I have to diagram the conditional statement in the stimulus?” The answer is, “It is your decision.” Not every conditional statement needs to be diagrammed. Early in the course we recommend that you develop the ability to diagram any statement both quickly and accurately because there will be questions you encounter where you need to rely on your diagramming skills. After you have mastered diagramming, the choice of whether to diagram certain statements is yours. Some students diagram almost all the statements they encounter because it becomes second nature, whereas others diagram only when they feel there are too many variables to track. This particular question is a perfect example of a problem where you could skip diagramming if you felt you perfectly understood the relationship in the last sentence. Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to diagram is up to you, but make sure you are a master of diagramming before you start choosing to not diagram.

[blade21cn]

Can anyone elaborate why (A) and (C) are wrong? I've difficulty comprehending the language.

With regard to (A), the previous explanation said: While the stimulus states that the FDA "regulates the introduction of new therapeutic agents," there is no information provided to indicate that the FDA regulates those agents thereafter.

But I thought this answer choice got it backward. According to the stimulus, the FDA regulates the introduction of new therapeutic agents into the marketplace, i.e., the transfer from the laboratory to the marketplace. In other words, this is the prerequisite for new therapeutic agents to be put out on the marketplace. The order should be: regulated first, and then marketed, but the answer choice states "marketed ... then regulated."

With regard to (C), the previous explanation said: The stimulus states that the research community engages in the long process of initial discovery and clinical testing, but the stimulus does not indicate that the research community is responsible for the length of the period.

The stimulus states "While it is those in the academic and government research communities who ENGAGE ... it is the FDA's role and RESPONSIBILITY to facilitate the transfer ..." It basically juxtaposes these two time frames with their respective responsible entities: (1) In the long process of initial discovery and clinical testing: academic and government research communities engage/be responsible; (2) Transfer from the laboratory to the marketplace: FDA engage/be responsible. So I tend to think "engage" and "[be] responsible" are used interchangeably.

[Jeremy Press]

Hi blade,

Great questions! Regarding answer choice A, I agree with your understanding, but I think the reversal you're seeing there is consistent with the given explanation in the original post. In other words, since what the stimulus states is the reverse of what answer choice A states, it's also true to say that there is no evidence in the stimulus that the FDA regulates therapeutic agents after the point at which they're in the marketplace.

Regarding answer choice C, we cannot be certain that those who engage in an activity are necessarily responsible for all the elements of that activity (including its length). Think of it this way: some years ago (I won't tell you how long!), I engaged in the activity of obtaining a law degree, a process that took three years. But was I responsible for the fact that that process took three years? Definitely not! That activity's time period was set by forces outside my control. If I had anything to say about it, I'd have made the process a couple years shorter. For the same reason, we can't be sure that those who engage in discovery and clinical testing are responsible for how long those activities take.

I hope this helps!

Jeremy

[blade21cn]

Thanks, Jeremy! I misread (C) as saying the research community is responsible DURING the testing period.

[LSAT2020]

I'm still struggling to understand how answer choice B represents the contrapositive of the last sentence in the stimulus. I think this stems from me not fully understanding the last sentence in the stimulus. I see the word "only" and know that the idea that follows it must be in the necessary condition. Our two ideas are :
1. after the transfer
2. new therapies help patients

The diagram:

new therapies help patients after the transfer

Contrapositive:
/after the transfer /new therapies help patients

What would the contrapositive sound like in English?

Would it be, "before the transfer, there will not be new therapies to help patients?

I think the "after" in the stimulus threw me off in terms of how that would sound like when working with the contrapositive.

Also, is the phrasing "new therapeutic agents" synonymous with "new therapies" ?

[KelseyWoods]

Hi LSAT2020!

You diagrammed the last sentence correctly. But, as you said, you still have to make sure you're clear on the meaning. What exactly is meant by "transfer"? "Transfer" from where to where? What exactly is being transferred? The previous sentence provides us this context: "transfer" refers to the transfer from the laboratory to the marketplace and it's the "new discoveries" that are being transferred.

So you could translate your conditional diagram to read: If new therapies are helping patients, then those new therapies must have been transferred from the laboratory to the marketplace.

The contrapositive would then be: If new therapies have not been transferred from the laboratory to the marketplace, then new therapies are not helping patients.

Answer choice (B) says that before new therapeutic agents reach the marketplace, they do not help patients. If they haven't reached the marketplace, that's the same as saying that they have not been transferred from the laboratory to the marketplace. "New therapeutic agents" means the same thing as "new therapies" (the stimulus refers to them as "new therapeutic agents" in the first two sentences). So answer choice (B) matches the contrapositive of that last sentence.

Remember that when you're diagramming conditional statements, it's important to rely on the precise wording for determining what is sufficient and what is necessary. But it's important to have a full understanding of those sufficient and necessary conditions. Oftentimes that means looking at other sentences for more context. It also means not relying exclusively on the exact words that you may have used in your diagram. You have to be open to other words or phrases that have equivalent meanings to your sufficient and necessary conditions. You always have to be specific about meanings, but you don't have to be specific about exact words.

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey