This is a busy week on Capitol Hill, where several Senate and House committees will convene hearings and markup sessions on matters that are important to the biotech field.
The Senate HELP Committee today will discuss the PREVENT Pandemics Act, a bill that seeks to improve the critical medical products supply chain, upgrade existing systems of U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS), modernize public health data using biosurveillance and data collection of infectious diseases, and also provide grants for research projects for eligible entities to support urgent medical care in rural areas. In addition, it requires agencies and institutes such as the HHS, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the National Health Institute (NIH) to collaborate for better forecast of public health emergencies.
The Senate Finance Committee tomorrow will discuss the “Prescription Drug Price Inflation: An Urgent Need to Lower Drug Prices in Medicare,” a legislation committee chair Ron Wyden says he will “continue to push” to ensure capping of out-of-pocket costs for senior citizens and penalties for pharma companies that increase drug prices.
Other relevant hearings and markups include:
