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To Do: Pass the EPIC Act for Small-Molecule Drugs

To Do: Pass the EPIC Act for Small-Molecule Drugs
Knowledge Base Article in: Tech Policy To-Do List
Last Updated: February 25, 2025

Recommendation

Congress should pass the Ensuring Pathways to Innovative Cures (EPIC) Act.

Details

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) drew a distinction between how long small molecule and large molecule (i.e., biologic) drugs could be on the market before becoming subject to IRA price setting provisions. By permitting small molecules to be sold at 9 years at market prices, compared to 13 years for large molecules, the IRA disproportionately harms small molecule innovation. The EPIC Act seeks to give small molecule drugs the same market time before price setting as biologics, allowing both 13 years.

Keep reading:

Stephen Ezell, Leah Kann, and Sandra Barbosu, “The Inflation Reduction Act Is Negotiating Us Out of Drug Innovation” (ITIF, February 2025), https://itif.org/publications/2025/02/25/the-inflation-reduction-act-is-negotiating-the-united-states-out-of-drug-innovation/.  

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