Democrats in the Senate moved closer to approving a bill that would ban advertising for a new drug for two years following its approval. Republicans tried and failed at stripping the provision in the PDUFA reauthorization bill. Republicans vowed to continue the fight onto the Senate floor, though, saying that it believed the ban is unconstitutional. Republicans want to replace the ban with new fines for false or misleading advertising. Every five years Congress has to renew PDUFA, which provides hundreds of millions of dollars in industry fees to the FDA while outlining a specific regulatory schedule for drug reviews.
- read the Ad Age report on the legislation