PDUFA out of committee, ready for vote in House

The USA's Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) renewal bill has cleared its penultimate hurdle in the House of Representatives, as the Energy and Commerce Committee this week cleared a final version to be voted on.

Lawmakers elected not to include amendments which would prevent pharmaceutical companies from abusing the risk evaluation and mitigation strategies (REMS) rules to obstruct competition from generics drugmakers.

Attempts to address concerns over drug pricing were rebutted. Californian Democrat Anna Eshoo failed to secure further hearings on the matter, and an amendment which would have facilitated the importation of drugs from Canada was voted down.