| The House on Tuesday voted 378-46 to pass a $93.6 billion fiscal year 2007 Agriculture appropriations bill (HR 5384) which includes $17.8 billion in discretionary spending for FDA and USDA. Prior to approval, the House removed a
provision from the legislation that would have allowed FDA to require post-market studies of new prescription drugs. The provision had bipartisan support, but Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) raised a point of order because he said that the measure "sought to change existing law and constituted legislation in an appropriations bill." A A House Energy and Commerce Committee spokesperson said that "the main concern here is procedural." Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who sponsored the provision, criticized the move, adding, "This authority is a critical part of the drug safety process." As reported in recent AMC/NOMA email alerts and publications, we have long supported the notion of postmarket studies for the betterment of patients and drug efficacy. FDA requested postmarket trials for 73% of the drugs it approved between 1988 and 2003, but pharmaceutical companies have failed to complete two-thirds of the studies they pledged to conduct, according to reports. Currently, FDA does not have the authority to compel pharmaceutical companies to finish the studies.
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