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With the Democrats taking control of the Senate, the healthcare agenda will likely focus on increasing the availability of generics in the market, improved drug safety and the role of trade policy in protecting domestic pharmaceuticals, according to industry observers.
A panel of drug industry representatives presented their views on the effects of reverse-payment deals before federal lawmakers at a Senate hearing called to consider proposed legislation that could stop the practice of paying generic drug companies to limit market competition.
Congress is considering a funding resolution that will provide the NIH with an additional $620 million to fund 500 new biomedical grants, an internal memo says.
With the rapid evolution of gene-based diagnostics and targeted drug therapies, a movement to protect the confidentiality of genetic information is picking up steam. Concerned that fear of genetic discrimination is undermining R&D and market traction for gene-based products, lawmakers last week reintroduced a bill addressing the issue.
Leading Senate Democrats believe that they are only a few votes away from having the support necessary to overcome a promised presidential veto of stem cell legislation and say that increasing public and political pressure will be enough to give them the necessary support.
Based on President Bush’s State of the Union address, the debate over how to improve the healthcare system comes down to the administration’s call for tax deductions and state grant programs versus Democrats’ plans to give the government the authority to negotiate Medicare prices.
In a development likely to fuel the argument that Medicare and Medicaid need major overhauls, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is predicting that these programs will grow by 124 percent over the next 10 years, outpacing economic growth two to one.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the incoming chairwoman of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the FDA’s budget, has a number of changes in mind for the agency, starting with an improved drug review system, the lawmaker says.
In one of the first oversight actions of the new Congress, members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce released a letter sent to FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach announcing an inquiry into one of the agency’s contracts.
In a development likely to fuel the argument that Medicare and Medicaid need major overhauls, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is predicting that these programs will grow by 124 percent over the next 10 years, outpacing economic growth two to one.