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H.R. 639, Improving Regulatory Transparency for New Medical Therapies Act 1 (March 16, 2015)

handle is hein.congrec/cbo2146 and id is 1 raw text is: 



                  CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE

0                            COST ESTIMATE
                                                                   March 16, 2014


                                   H.R. 639
   Improving Regulatory Transparency for New Medical Therapies Act

        As ordered reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce
                               on February 12, 2015


H.R. 639 would modify the administrative procedures followed by the Department of
Justice in regulating new drugs that are already approved by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) and in authorizing drugs to be used in clinical trials. The legislation
would aim to streamline the current review and approval process. CBO estimates that
implementing the bill would have no significant effect on spending subject to
appropriation. Enacting the legislation would affect direct spending and revenues related to
federal health care costs; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. CBO estimates that
that those effects would also not be significant over the 2015-2025 period.

The legislation would change the effective date of FDA approval for certain new drugs that
undergo review by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to determine if the drug should
be marketed with restrictions as a controlled substance. Such a change could extend certain
regulatory periods during which FDA will not accept marketing applications or permit
another manufacturer to market a version of an affected drug and could also result in the
extension of patent terms for certain products. Extending such periods of marketing
exclusivity could delay the entry of lower-priced generic drugs on the market, and such a
delay would increase the average cost for prescription drugs. Any increase in health care
costs resulting from delaying the market entry of generic drugs would affect direct
spending and revenues by increasing the cost of prescription drugs for federal health
programs and private health insurance.

CBO expects that the bill's provisions would apply to a limited number of drugs subject to
DEA classification after enactment. Because most drugs generally retain patent protections
after FDA approval for more than 10 years, CBO anticipates that the likelihood that drugs
affected by the bill will face generic competition before 2025 under current law would be
small. As a result, we estimate that enacting the bill would not significantly affect direct
spending or revenues over the 2015-2025 period. Beyond 2025, however, the potential for
the legislation to delay the market entry of generic drugs would be greater, and the effect on
direct spending and revenues would increase in later years.

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