Recent enactment of legislation updating and reauthorizing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration user fee programs will help manufacturers develop innovative, life-saving medical treatments and devices faster while maintaining patient safety, U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) wrote in an op-ed published on Friday.
Signed into law by President Donald Trump on Aug. 18, the FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017 also authorizes over-the-counter sales of hearing aids, takes steps to make generic drugs more competitive to lower prices and improves fee structures to benefit small businesses. The measure received strong bipartisan support in the House and Senate.
“I have a long record of supporting medical innovation, research, the development of new drugs and devices and, of course, good-paying local jobs right here at home,” Upton wrote in the article appearing in the Detroit News. “Now that our groundbreaking, bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act is law, reauthorizing these FDA user fee programs is an important next step to ensuring these jobs stay here in Michigan and patients across the country benefit from improved, life-saving therapies.”
In addition to protecting local jobs, the FDA Reauthorization Act also prevented the FDA from having to lay off 70 percent of its employees. The move, Upton wrote, would have had a devastating impact on both drug developers and consumers.
“Beyond the public health benefits, this legislation is critical to thousands of jobs, particularly here in Michigan,” Upton said.
He noted that Michigan is home to medical device maker Stryker Corp., the generic drug maker side at Perrigo Co., Pfizer Inc.’s largest manufacturing site, and dozens of other biotech and manufacturing firms.
“In recent months, I’ve visited with workers and leaders at these innovative companies, including Pfizer, which recently announced a multi-million dollar expansion in Michigan that will bring in more than $2 billion in economic activity annually and 5,680 jobs to our state,” Upton said. “Folks at these firms have told me it is vital for this legislation to move forward to protect these local jobs as well as patients who will benefit from the new therapies the FDA helps get to market,” he added.