BY THOMAS M. BURTON

Medical-device companies have reached a tentative deal to pay the Food and Drug Administration $595 million over five years to increase the number of federal workers who approve devices and get new devices on the market faster.

The deal is more than double the $287 million the industry currently pays the agency in "user fees"—money paid by companies seeking to get a new device approved. For the first time, the agency will have hard-and-fast goals for how long it can take to approve devices on average before they go to market.

The agreement will beef up the number of full-time ...