Posted by Michael Wonder on 01 Dec 2016
House passes Health Bill to speed drug approvals, boost biomedical research
30 November 2016 - The $6.3 billion bill includes $1 billion to prevent and treat opioid addictions.
The House on Wednesday passed far-reaching legislation aimed at bolstering federal funds for biomedical research and speeding up drug and medical-device approvals by the FDA, a goal long sought by the pharmaceutical industry.
The measure also wraps in separate legislation that contains an extensive program to promote treatment of mental illness and would provide $1 billion to prevent and treat the national scourge of opioid addiction. These provisions helped to rally lawmakers from both sides of the aisle around the bill, which passed 392-26.
The bill, with a price tag totalling $6.3 billion, also includes $4.8 billion for the National Institutes of Health over 10 years and $500 million for the new programs within the FDA.
