Us Congress 2023-2024 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB427

Introduced
1/20/23  
Refer
1/20/23  

Caption

Support And Value Expectant Moms and Babies Act of 2023 or the SAVE Moms and Babies Act of 2023 This bill prohibits the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from approving any new drug (either as a brand-name drug or a generic) intended to terminate a pregnancy and imposes additional restrictions on such drugs that are already approved. Under the bill, an already-approved drug intended to terminate a pregnancy may be dispensed to a patient only with a prescription. Furthermore, the FDA may not approve any labeling change that would authorize (1) using the drug after 70 days of gestation, or (2) dispensing the drug by any means other than in-person administration by the prescribing health care practitioner. The FDA must also impose additional restrictions on such already-approved drugs, including by (1) requiring the prescribing health care practitioner to receive a special certification, (2) prohibiting the practitioner from also acting as the dispensing pharmacist, and (3) requiring the practitioner to have the ability to provide surgical intervention to the patient. The bill also rescinds any investigational use exemption already granted to such a drug if the bill would have prohibited the FDA from granting the exemption. (Currently, the FDA may grant an exemption to certain market approval requirements if a drug is intended solely for use in safety and effectiveness investigations.)

Impact

The implications of HB 427 are significant as it not only attempts to halt the introduction of new abortion medications but also places undue regulatory burdens on practitioners who prescribe existing approved drugs. The bill mandates practitioners to undergo special certification to prescribe these drugs and prohibits them from dispensing the drugs through pharmacies, effectively controlling how these medications can be accessed. This consolidation of regulatory authority could lead to decreased availability of abortion services, particularly for those in remote or underserved areas, thus raising concerns about access to necessary healthcare.

Summary

House Bill 427, known as the Support and Value Expectant Moms and Babies Act of 2023 (SAVE Moms and Babies Act), seeks to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the approval of new abortion drugs and impose further restrictions on existing ones. This bill categorically bans the FDA from granting marketing approvals for any new drugs intended for abortion, thereby significantly restricting the available options for medically-assisted terminations. Additionally, it stipulates that existing drugs must only be dispensed through in-person administration by certified healthcare practitioners, limiting access for patients in need of such services.

Contention

Debate surrounding HB 427 highlights notable divisions among legislators and advocacy groups. Proponents argue the bill protects unborn life and ensures that mothers are provided with adequate medical oversight during termination procedures. In contrast, opponents, including numerous healthcare professionals and reproductive rights advocates, argue that the bill undermines women's health rights and restricts access to safe and effective medical services. They view the bill as part of a broader strategy to limit reproductive choices, potentially leading to increased instances of unsafe abortions.

Companion Bills

US SB95

Identical bill SAVE Moms and Babies Act of 2023 Support And Value Expectant Moms and Babies Act of 2023

Previously Filed As

US HB843

Prompt Approval of Safe Generic Drugs ActThis bill authorizes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve certain applications to market a generic drug despite the omission of certain safety information from the generic drug's labeling.Specifically, the FDA may not deem an abbreviated application for approval of a generic drug ineligible for approval solely because the drug's labeling omits safety information that is protected under another drug's patent or exclusivity protections. Similarly, a drug that is approved under this bill may not be considered mislabeled for lacking such safety information.Generally, an abbreviated application, for the purposes of this bill, is one that (1) uses required information from studies not conducted by the applicant; or (2) seeks approval of a drug that is, for drug approval purposes, a duplicate of an already-approved drug (i.e., a generic drug). Currently, the labeling for such a generic drug must generally be identical to that of the already-approved drug. This bill provides an exception to that requirement under the specified circumstances. For any drug approved under this bill, the FDA must require the drug's labeling to include any safety information that is necessary to assure safe use.

US HB75

Prescription Freedom Act of 2023 This bill generally eliminates the authority of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require that a drug be dispensed only with a prescription. However, the FDA may continue to require a prescription for any drug intended for terminating a pregnancy.

US HB456

Fairness in Orphan Drug Exclusivity Act This bill limits which orphan drugs may be granted a market exclusivity period by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (Generally, an orphan drug is one that is not economically viable because of the rarity of the disease that it treats; the sponsor of an FDA-designated orphan drug may be granted various incentives, such as a seven-year period in which the FDA may not grant market approval to a different sponsor for the same drug to treat the same disease.) Under this bill, if a drug is designated as an orphan drug on the basis that there is no reasonable expectation that the sponsor will recover the costs of developing and distributing the drug from U.S. sales, the drug shall be granted the seven-year exclusivity period only if the sponsor demonstrates that there is no reasonable expectation that it will recover such costs within its first 12 years of U.S. sales of the drug. When deciding whether an orphan drug meets this requirement, the FDA shall consider the sales of all drugs from the sponsor that are covered by the same orphan drug designation.

US HB206

Healthy Technology Act of 2023 This bill establishes that artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning technology may be eligible to prescribe drugs. Currently, certain drugs may be dispensed only upon a prescription provided by a practitioner licensed by law to administer the drug. Under this bill, an AI or machine learning technology may qualify as such a prescribing practitioner if the technology is (1) authorized by state law to prescribe the drug involved; and (2) approved, cleared, or authorized under certain federal provisions pertaining to medical devices and products.

US HB238

Healthy Technology Act of 2025 This bill establishes that artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning technology may be eligible to prescribe drugs.Currently, certain drugs may be dispensed only upon a prescription provided by a practitioner licensed by law to administer the drug. Under this bill, an AI or machine learning technology may qualify as such a prescribing practitioner if the technology is (1) authorized by state law to prescribe the drug involved; and (2) approved, cleared, or authorized under certain federal provisions pertaining to medical devices and products.

US HB89

Prescription Freedom Act of 2025This bill generally eliminates the authority of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require that a drug be dispensed only with a prescription. However, the FDA may continue to require a prescription for any drug intended for terminating a pregnancy.

US SB43

Skinny Labels, Big Savings ActThis bill provides a statutory safe harbor from patent infringement claims for generic or biosimilar manufacturers that seek or obtain approval for skinny labels of their drugs.Under current law, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may approve generic and biosimilar drugs through a process known as skinny labeling, which allows a generic manufacturer to seek approval only for approved uses of the drug that are no longer protected by patents. However, in GlaxoSmithKline LLC v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., a court held that a generic manufacturer may sometimes be liable for patent infringement when it markets skinny label generics.The bill specifically lists the following as actions that are not considered infringement of a method of use claim in a patent under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act:submitting or seeking approval of a skinny label for a generic or biosimilar drug;promoting or commercially marketing a drug with skinny labeling approved by the FDA; ordescribing a drug product approved by the FDA as a generic of, or therapeutically equivalent to, the branded drug.The bill also applies the safe harbor to similar actions under the Public Health Service Act.

US HB167

Patient Access to Urgent-Use Pharmacy Compounding Act of 2023 This bill relaxes certain requirements for compounding drugs that are facing shortages. Drug compounding is the process of mixing or otherwise altering drugs to create a medication. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows for drug compounding subject to certain requirements. Generally, a licensed pharmacist or physician not registered with the FDA may only compound drugs in limited quantities for prescriptions for a specific individual patient. On the other hand, an FDA-registered outsourcing facility may compound drugs in bulk for use in medical facilities but is subject to additional requirements. This bill allows a compounder not registered with the FDA to compound drugs in limited quantities for an urgent medical need not involving a specific patient if, among other requirements (1) the prescriber certifies that the prescriber is unable, despite reasonable attempts, to obtain certain related drugs with the same active ingredient and route of administration; (2) the compounded drug meets certain labeling requirements, including an indication that the compounded drug is provided only for urgent administration to a patient; and (3) the compounder requests and maintains certain records about patients receiving the compounded drug. Furthermore, a restriction against an unregistered compounder regularly compounding (or compounding inordinate amounts of) what is essentially a copy of a commercially available drug shall not apply if the drug is on a shortage list maintained by the FDA or the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists.

US HR309

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Food and Drug Administration has the authority to approve drugs for abortion care.

US SB79

Interagency Patent Coordination and Improvement Act of 2023 This bill establishes the Interagency Task Force on Patents to support coordination and communication between the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on activities relating to patents for human drugs and biological products. The task force's duties shall include sharing information about (1) the processes of each agency, including how each agency evaluates applications (e.g., patent applications at the PTO and new drug applications at the FDA); and (2) new approvals of patents, human drugs, biological products, and new technologies. The task force must also establish a process that requires (1) the PTO to request from the FDA information relating to certain patent applications to help patent examiners carry out their duties, (2) the FDA to provide such information to the PTO, and (3) the PTO to assist the FDA in its ministerial role of listing patents.

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