WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo (CA-18), Chairwoman of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, hailed House passage of her legislation, H.R. 7667, the Food and Drug Amendments of 2022, which reauthorizes the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) user fee agreements for drugs and medical devices. The legislation includes key portions of Eshoo's DEPICT Act, bipartisan legislation to increase diversity in clinical trials.

"With a bipartisan vote today, the House passed my legislation to allow the FDA to collect user fees to fulfill its vital mission of ensuring the safety, efficacy, and quality of America's drugs and medical devices," said Eshoo. "I'm proud that the package includes key portions of my DEPICT Act, which would require clinical trials to include diverse populations so that all Americans can be confident that the treatments being developed work for patients, regardless of backgrounds. I look forward to working with the Senate to pass my legislation and get it to the President's desk to be signed into law."

"For decades, clinical trials have vastly underrepresented Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous patients and left these patients and their doctors questioning whether they can rely on clinical trial results to guide their care," said Dr. Gwen Nichols, Chief Medical Officer at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. "The Food and Drug Amendments of 2022 would make trial diversity a priority for drugmakers and regulators and would help FDA make the changes we need to improve representation among patients participating in clinical trials. We are thankful for Chair Eshoo's leadership and for her work to craft a bipartisan package that will soon lead to meaningful change for patients with cancer and other serious conditions."

"Enhancing diversity in clinical trials is vital to ensuring that research and development of new therapies better represents the populations they seek to treat," said Jeff Allen, President & CEO of Friends of Cancer Research. "We are deeply grateful for the leadership of Chairwoman Eshoo and Congressman Fitzpatrick in making sure all efforts are being made to make clinical trials more equitable and inclusive by having the DEPICT Act as part of the user fee package passed today."

"We are pleased to see the continued progress toward achieving equitable participation in biomedical research and clinical trials," said Esther Krofah, Milken Institute Executive Director of FasterCures and Center for Public Health. "FasterCures applauds Rep. Eshoo's leadership and the bipartisan support for legislation which includes action plans designed to remove barriers and increase participation of historically marginalized groups."

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