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Senate Panel Passes Breakthrough Device, Other Measures; FDA Funding Debated

The Senate HELP Committee voted March 9 in favor of a breakthrough device provision, watered down from a version approved in the House last year. Other bills voted out of committee include a combination products reform measure, the digital-health focused MEDTECH Act, and four others. Senators are still debating whether NIH and FDA should get additional funds to cover the cost of the bills, which will be wrapped up into a broader package before Senate floor debate.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee passed breakthrough medical device legislation, as well as combination products and digital health regulatory reform bills, on March 9 as part of the panel's effort to pass a broad-reaching biomedical innovation package this year.

In all, the committee approved seven health care bills at the recent hearing, following seven that passed through the committee...

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