US lawmakers introduce Bill to speed Ebola treatments development

US Senators Tom Harkin (Democrat, Iowa), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (Republican, Tennessee) have announced their intention to introduce a bill to speed the development of treatments and vaccines for Ebola by adding Ebola to FDA’s priority review “voucher” program, a program at the Food and Drug Administration designed to incentivize the development of new drugs for neglected tropical diseases.

Currently Ebola is not listed as a qualifying tropical disease. The Harkin-Alexander bill, which will be introduced when Congress reconvenes, will seek to add Ebola as a qualifying disease under the program.

“In Iowa and around the country, families are counting on their leaders to ensure the USA is taking every step possible to contain Ebola and keep Americans healthy and safe. To help accomplish this, I plan to introduce  bill that will help FDA incentivize the development of new Ebola treatments,” said Sen Harkin, adding: “When enacted, as I hope it will be, this legislation will strengthen our response to Ebola and help innovators to continue their work to develop Ebola treatments and vaccines. I urge my colleagues to join me in passing this bill and continuing to invest in the public health agencies on the frontlines of the US response to Ebola.”