Lingering for more than two years, the revamped 21st Century Cures bill, unveiled in late November, has now been approved by the House and Senate and President Barack Obama has said he will sign it.
The 996-page bill includes major tweaks to the way in which the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates drugs, devices and biologics, while providing the agency with $500 million over 10 years to implement provisions that seek to move such products to patients more quickly, while maintaining the same standard for safety and effectiveness that the agency has adhered to in the past.