Here are four things to know:
1. The move speaks to the Trump administration’s commitment to reducing spiraling drug prices, WSJ reports. With the support of many Democrats, lawmakers first introduced the bill in 2015, but the bill did not come to fruition.
2. As the bill aims to increase competition for older medications that lost patent protection, many big pharmaceutical companies and generic drug companies are likely to endorse the legislation.
3. Many older drugs that lost patent protection could find contenders in generics, but often do not due to medication shortages or a small market.
4. The bill, which Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) and Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) sponsored, encourages companies to launch generics on the market by speeding up the FDA’s copy review process.
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