Balancing the Risks of Errors in Hypothesis Testing
The U.S. FDA is responsible for approving new drugs.  Many consumer groups feel that the approval process is too easy and, therefore, too many drugs are approved that are later found to be unsafe.  On the other hand, a number of industry lobbyists have pushed for a more lenient approval process so that pharmaceutical companies can get new drugs approved more easily and quickly. This is from an article in the Wall Street Journal.  Consider a null hypothesis that a new, unapproved drug is unsafe and an alternative hypothesis that a new, unapproved drug is safe.