House lawmakers agreed to extend drug makers’ monopolies on their products by six months, if they are modified to treat a rare disease.
The House Energy & Commerce Committee updated its landmark legislation Wednesday under the 21st Century Cures Initiative. While the latest draft leaves many changes intact, it does return exclusivity perks for manufacturers that were previously struck.
If a drug is already on the market and gets approved to treat a rare disease then the drug maker will get an extra six months of market exclusivity. During that time the Food and Drug Administration would be prohibited by law from approving a generic, copycat version of the product.
The amount is far less than what was earlier proposed by House lawmakers, which was an additional three years of exclusivity.
However, that figure outlined in a draft released earlier this year drew opposition from Democrats.
A House Energy & Commerce subcommittee will decide Thursday whether to advance the package to the full committee.
Other provisions in the bill, which include an extra $10 billion in funding for research, were left untouched.
