Senate passes 21st Century Act, boosting research and easing drug approvals

The 21^st Century Cures Act, passed by the Senate yesterday with overwhelming bipartisan support, is an important victory for biotechnology and medical innovation that will help expedite the development of the next generation medicines, expediate drug approval process, while helping to lower other healthcare costs. The bill provides for $4.8 billion in new funding for the National Institutes of Health; of that, $1.8 billion is reserved for the “cancer moonshot” launched by Vice President Biden to accelerate research in that field. Another $1.6 billion is earmarked for brain diseases including Alzheimer’s. Also included are $500 million in new funding for the Food and Drug Administration and $1 billion in grants to help states deal with opioid abuse, Washington Post reports. Read full story