WASHINGTON, DC - House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) today released the following statement after President Barack Obama signed the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act into law. The FDA Safety and Innovation Act, which is a key component of the committee’s jobs agenda, ensures the continuation of various FDA initiatives and the creation of new ones to facilitate the review and approval of life-saving and life-improving drugs and devices. The bill also takes action to curb drug shortages and speed the approval of groundbreaking treatments.
“The FDA Safety and Innovation Act will make a real difference in the lives of patients and provide much needed support for our nation’s job creators," said Upton. “This law will improve predictability, consistency, transparency, and efficiency of FDA regulations and will help patients get access to new treatments more quickly. These important reforms will help us not only keep jobs in Michigan and all across America, but also to create new ones. This is an important bipartisan accomplishment, and I congratulate all of my colleagues who helped get the bill across the finish line."
Prior to the law’s passage, the committee held ten hearings to hear from patients, innovators, and job creators who provided first-hand experience and suggestions for how to improve the current system. Dozens of groups representing patients, hospitals, medical device and pharmaceutical companies have voiced their support for these reforms.
