Creating Hope Reauthorization Act Introduced

A bipartisan group of senators has introduced the Creating Hope Reauthorization Act to encourage the development of drugs to treat rare diseases affecting children. The sponsors include Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Bob Casey (D-PA), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

A statement from Sen. Collins says the bill would extend FDA’s Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher program that incentivizes drug makers to create these novel treatments by bringing them to the market on an expedited timeline. The bill would extend the voucher program through 9/30/2030, longer than previous reauthorizations.

Collins says that since the program’s creation in 2012, it has awarded 58 vouchers for 39 rare pediatric diseases that have led to innovations benefitting over 200,000 patients. Some 36 of the rare diseases had no previously approved therapies on the market at the time of approval, she says.