Medicines for the People Act

Key Points

• This bill would create a brand-new government institute within the National Institutes of Health dedicated to developing drugs, devices, and biological products from start to finish — and making them available at prices ordinary people can afford.
• The federal government would own the patents on any medicines created through this institute. Drugs manufactured by the government would be sold at cost — meaning no profit markup — and patents would be licensed for free to public and nonprofit organizations.
• The bill authorizes a massive $90 billion for fiscal year 2027, which would fund new research facilities, clinical trials, and hiring of scientists to carry out the institute's work.
• A 15-member governing board would set priorities for which diseases and health conditions to tackle first. The bill includes strict conflict-of-interest rules: no more than 5 members can come from the for-profit sector, and pharmaceutical lobbyists are banned from serving.
• The institute would be required to share all preclinical and clinical trial data openly with researchers and the public, including cost data. All licensing agreements and contracts with private companies must also be posted online.
• When public manufacturing isn't practical, the institute would license patents to private manufacturers — but must give preference to nonprofit organizations before for-profit companies, and royalties would be reinvested into more research.