The House of Representatives last week passed a bill (387 to 5 vote) that would reauthorize the Food and Drug Administration’s user fee programs and amend the rules regarding marketing exclusivity, medical device safety, drug importation, and other FDA programs. The “FDA Reform Act of 2012,” H.R. 5651, reauthorizes and amends various user fee statutes, creates new and additional user fees, reauthorizes the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act and the Pediatric Research Equity Act, changes the rules for public comment on draft guidance documents, and contains new provisions dealing with drug shortages.  The fees are supposed to reflect agreements negotiated between the FDA and industry regarding about $2.8 billion in user fees over five years.

The vote came shortly after the Senate approved its own version of FDA legislation, S. 3187 (the FDA Safety and Innovation Act). The Senate bill was also passed with bipartisan support.

The differences between the House and Senate bills now must be worked out in conference. The bills differ in a variety of ways, such as which antibiotics will be eligible for incentives, which include a five-year extension of market exclusivity. The bills also differ on the details of a national  track-and-trace system for drugs. The Senate bill also included language about Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) which is not in the House version. See a comparison of the bills here.  Various observers report that House and Senate leaders expect to have a compromise bill for the President to sign in early July.