Congress·In Committee·H.R. 3731

Small Biotech Innovation Act

Small Biotech Companies: Medicare Price Negotiation Exception

11 months ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

The Small Biotech Innovation Act is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It has been sent to two House committees for review and is not yet scheduled for a vote. The bill is considered active as it waits for these committees to begin their work.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Unlikely to pass

This bill targets a major part of current health care laws that many lawmakers want to keep exactly as they are.

Key Points

This bill would stop Medicare from negotiating lower prices for drugs made by small biotechnology companies that spend a lot of money on research and development.
To qualify, a company must have five or fewer drugs and cannot be controlled by foreign countries like China, Russia, North Korea, or Iran.
The amount a company must spend on research depends on how many drugs they have, ranging from 30 percent of their income for one drug to 70 percent for five drugs.
If a big drug company buys one of these small firms, the drugs would lose this special protection and Medicare could start negotiating their prices the following year.
Companies would have to apply every year starting in 2029 to prove they still qualify for the exception based on their spending and ownership.

Impact Analysis

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

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Jun 4, 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.

Jun 4, 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

Small Biotech Innovation Act

Bill NumberHR 3731

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.