Bill Would Force Drug Research Cost Disclosure

Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Tina Smith (D-MN) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) have introduced the Pharmaceutical Research Transparency Act to “increase transparency and make drug companies disclose their research and development expenses.” A statement issued by Stabenow says the bill follows a Government Accountability Office report that found that the amount of taxpayer contributions to drug research and development has frequently been underreported in patent filings.

Stabenow says that she and the House Committee on Oversight, of which Raskin is the ranking member, have worked together on a long-term effort to increase transparency around the drug development process, the true costs of research, and the extent of government contributions to drug discovery. She said the bill would increase transparency around who is paying what to develop new drugs and force companies to provide an accurate accounting of what they are spending on actual science.