As mentioned on our Health Industry Washington Watch blog, committees in both the House of Representatives and Senate last week addressed the speed at which medical innovations are approved and available for patient use. The House Energy and Commerce Committee's "21st Century Cures Act" discussion draft, released on January 27, 2015, is a wide-reaching bill that includes provisions regarding drug and device approval, clinical trials, Medicare coverage, and drug safety, among others. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's "Innovation for Healthier Americans: Identifying Opportunities for Meaningful Reform to Our Nation's Medical Product Discovery and Development" report, released on January 29, 2015, poses questions about effective targeting of government resources, the Food and Drug Administration approval process, clinical trial requirements, public-private partnerships, biomedical research, and U.S. regulations vs. international regulations.
Feedback is being accepted on both the House draft bill and the Senate report. There is no specified deadline for comments on the House draft; comments on the Senate report are due by February 23, 2015.
To read Debra McCurdy's entire post, click here.
This article is presented for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice.
