Round 2 'Innovation' Bills Adopted; Funding Fight Ahead
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
A second set of bills intended to overhaul the US biomedical enterprise, aimed at accelerating the discovery, development and approval processes for medical products, mostly had smooth sailing through the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on March 9, with only a somewhat brief debate over how the measures will be funded holding up the votes for a short time.
You may also be interested in...
Gene Therapy Guidances Will Focus On Specific Diseases, Gottlieb Says
US FDA's first such guidance will focus on hemophilia, commissioner tells Congress.
Moderna's Valera Takes mRNA Approach To Combat Zika
With new funding in hand, Moderna and its infectious disease venture Valera are going full-speed ahead with a Zika vaccine, taking an mRNA approach, which they said could be a more rapid strategy to try to stop the disease.
Allergan's Price Reform Pledge: Will Others Follow?
Allergan CEO Brent Saunders vows not to engage in price gouging and says his firm will limit cost increases to single-digit percentages, occurring only once per year. But it's unclear whether Saunders will stand as a lone wolf in the industry or if others will make similar pledges.