Green, Pitts, Pallone Introduce Legislation to Accelerate Approval for New Therapies
Press Release
Congressman Gene Green (D-TX), Ranking Member of the Health Subcommittee, Congressman Joe Pitts (R-PA), Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee, and Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, re-introduced H.R. 639, the Improving Regulatory Transparency for New Medical Therapies Act. This bipartisan legislation seeks to improve the transparency and consistency of Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) review of pharmaceuticals.
"I'm glad to be working with my colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee to improve patient access to innovative treatments," Green said. "This legislation will reduce unnecessary delays and bring clarity and transparency to the process of scheduling of new FDA-approved therapies."
H.R. 639 improves the DEA scheduling process for new FDA-approved drugs under the Controlled Substances Act and the registration process for the use of controlled substances in clinical trials. This will allow safe and innovative treatments to get to patients in a more timely and predictable manner.
Pitts said, "Once again, I am introducing this legislation to make sure patients get timely access to the latest therapies safely. I'm proud to be working together this year once again with Congressman Pallone, now the Ranking Member of the full committee and also now with Congressman Gene Green (D-TX), my new counterpart on the Health Subcommittee. We're all going to pull together to get this bipartisan measure through Congress this year."
"I'm proud to work with Chairman Pitts and Ranking Member Green on this critical initiative that will bring better reliability and transparency to DEA review of new therapies, while continuing to ensure that they reach those in need both safely and effectively," said Pallone. "This bill will support the innovation already occurring throughout the medical community and continues our committee's important bipartisan efforts to better align our drug approval framework with the interests of patients."
H.R. 639 is scheduled for mark up in the Health Subcommittee this week.
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