By James DeGiulio --
H.R. 2015 Introduced in House to Improve System of Federally Funded Research
On May 26, Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA) (at right) introduced The American Discoveries - American Jobs Commission Act of 2011 (H.R. 2015), which is designed to stimulate American job growth, advance federal research and development efforts, and support the training of future scientists. The federal government spends nearly $130 billion annually on research and development. This federal funding often leads to marketable innovations, but the government does not have a mechanism to benefit financially from these successes. Rep. Fattah contends the federal government should be given the same opportunities as the academic and the private sectors, which derive royalties from intellectual property rights and can reinvest these generated funds for additional research.
The bill will establish a commission to study and recommend improvements to the existing system of federally funded research. The new commission will weigh the benefits of collecting royalties from government subsidized research that leads to the commercialization of products. The collected royalties would be reinvested in federal agencies in order to fund future research projects. In addition to evaluating a new system of royalties, the commission will also confirm that products developed with federal research funds are manufactured in the United States. This would not only produce jobs but guarantee broader benefits from initial investments.
H.R. 2015 has been referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
House Forms Affordable Medicines Caucus to Promote Use of Generic Drugs and Biosimilars
On May 12, Reps. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) (at right) and Peter Welch (D-VT) (below) founded the Congressional Affordable Medicines Caucus, with the goal of facilitating future legislation that leads to the wider use of generic drugs, including follow-on biologics. The lawmakers have started recruiting additional members and will craft a caucus agenda when the initial member drive is finished.
The primary goals of the new caucus are slowing the expansion in health care spending and promoting the need to work across party lines to solve problems. The caucus intends to lobby the Food and Drug Administration for an expansion in funding for the Office of Generic Drugs. Congress' recent focus on federal deficit reduction could provide a window of opportunity for drug importation to gain more traction. The caucus may decide to support importing less expensive drugs from outside the U.S. to reduce health care costs, noting the substantial premium that Americans pay for pharmaceuticals compared with the rest of the world. The caucus founders are hopeful that the new group can generate support for its proposed generic drug policies, which have faced stiff opposition from strong lobbying by brand pharmaceutical companies, which oppose importation on patient safety grounds.
The Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) applauded the creation of the new caucus, according to a press release issued by the industry group last month. In particular, the GPhA supports the caucus' stated goals of increasing the utilization of generic drugs for Medicare and Medicaid, programs which currently fail to effectively take advantage of the savings offered by generic drugs. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has estimated that as little as a 2% increase in generic utilization by Medicaid would save the program more than $1.3 billion. A 5% increase could save nearly $3.3 billion.
Comments