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On Thursday, May 21, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce unanimously passed H.R. 6, the 21st Century Cures Act, legislation designed to target and improve medical innovation. The bill, which was introduced in the House of Representatives by key committee leadership, would target all stages of the process— discovery, development and delivery for drugs and medical devices –with a focus on addressing these processes within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
This bill includes funding for NIH, programs to support scientists and researchers, groups to support pediatric and geriatric research, increased access to NIH-supported research and data, updated drug development guidelines, support for expedited approval of breakthrough therapies, development of new antibiotic drug development, grants to support domestic manufacturing and export efficiencies, enhancement of review for combination products and breakthrough devices, improved delivery of care, streamlining of clinical trial and improvements to medical device regulation, among other provisions.
The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the bill in June.
The American Society of Anesthesiologists supports increased funding for biomedical research as the path to better patient care, and will continue to monitor the ongoing development of this legislation and similar bills in Congress.
