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Guthrie Health Bills Pass House
Washington,
September 22, 2020
Tags:
Health Care
Guthrie, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, introduced the Safeguarding Therapeutics Act with fellow committee member Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY-16) to give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to seize and destroy counterfeit medical devices, including counterfeit COVID-19 tests. “This commonsense, bipartisan bill will give the FDA the authority to destroy counterfeit medical devices at entry points into our country,” said Guthrie on the House floor. “These include items such as combination products like injections and vaccines. If allowed into the country, these products could end up on the black market and harm American patients.” He continued, “The Safeguarding Therapeutics Act has become especially important now that our country is facing the COVID-19 pandemic. We have already seen instances of counterfeit COVID-19 tests and products claiming to cure COVID being sent to the United States. Bad actors are marketing tests and treatments that have not been approved by the FDA, and we need to give the FDA the ability to destroy these products as they enter the United States. While our nation continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, the last thing we need is fake COVID-19 tests and products in our market.” Guthrie introduced the National Centers of Excellence in Continuous Manufacturing Act with committee chair Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ-03) to promote drug manufacturing in the United States. “Continuous manufacturing for pharmaceuticals is a new technology that allows for drugs to be produced in a continuous stream, helping drugs get into the market faster. This is something that has become increasingly important during the COVID-19 pandemic. We need to ensure that our drug supply chain does not depend too heavily on other countries such as China,” said Guthrie. Both bills now await passage in the U.S. Senate.
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