Legislation from Congressman Tim Murphy (R-PA 18) would fund inspections of foreign pharmaceutical factories by imposing a fee on generic drug manufacturers in the United States.
H.R. 3988 would also provide funding to cut down on a backlog of generic drug applications in the federal Food and Drug Administration. Murphy said he wants to shorten the 30-month process of approving a generic drug.
Murphy said the legislation passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week, with the support of U.S. pharmaceutical companies.
"Really what happened is the generic drug manufacturers came to us and said, 'Look, we're willing to pay this fee if you can move drugs to the marketplace and the drug stores faster, and if you can get these inspections done,'" said Murphy.
He said the FDA often leaves foreign drug factories uninspected.
"You end up with problems, such as when heparin came over here that was contaminated, and it led to about 200 deaths and thousands of cases that were complicated from heparin that was made inappropriately," said Murphy.
The southwestern Pennsylvania congressman said the fee would bring in about $299 million dollars each year for the FDA.
The bill would not affect the lifetime of patents held by makers of brand-name pharmaceuticals.
