The US Senate has passed both a bill to allow the US Food and Drug Administration to recoup fees to finance its drug and medical device review activities as well as one that expands patients' access to experimental treatments, the New York Times reports.
The Senate passed the FDA Reauthorization Act in a 94-to-1 vote, Reuters adds. The bill would renew the agency's ability to collect user fees from drug companies. These fees make up about a quarter of FDA's budget, the Times notes. The bill also includes provisions to prevent price increases of decades-old drugs that lack competition, speed the review of generic drugs, and to boost cancer drugs for children, the Times says.
Reuters adds that the bill passed the House of Representatives last month, and the Times says President Donald Trump is expected to sign it.
The Senate also passed the Right to Try Act that would allow terminally ill patients increased access to experimental therapies and protect doctors and companies that provide the drugs. Reuters notes that the House has not passed this bill.