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Congress·In Committee·H.R. 2542

Old Drugs, New Cures Act

Drug Research: Incentives for New Uses of Old Medicines

This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It has been sent to two House committees for review and is waiting for further action. It is considered active as it moves through these initial committee assignments.

Legislative Progress

House
Senate
President
Law
Unlikely to pass

While the bill has bipartisan support, most bills introduced in the House never make it to a final vote, especially those that change how much money the government collects from drug companies.

Key Points

  • This bill creates a special label called priority research drugs for medicines that have been on the market for at least 10 years. To get this label, a company must be testing the drug to treat a new illness that currently has no other approved cure.
  • The new treatment must be aimed at conditions that are common among people using government health plans. This includes people on Medicaid, low-income seniors on Medicare, and veterans.
  • Under current rules, making small changes to a drug can sometimes force companies to pay higher rebates to the government. This bill stops those extra charges for these specific research drugs to make it more profitable for companies to find new uses for old medicines.
  • By lowering the cost of research, the bill aims to bring new treatments to patients faster. It focuses on using drugs we already know are safe to solve medical problems that do not have any solutions yet.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions
Apr 1, 2025House

Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Apr 1, 2025

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.

News

No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Old Drugs, New Cures Act

Bill NumberHR 2542
Congress119th Congress
ChamberHouse of Representatives
Latest ActionReferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(1)
R: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.