Pew, Partners Thank Subcommittee for Backing Reform of Over-the-Counter Drug Rules

The Pew Charitable Trusts, the American Academy of Pediatrics, March of Dimes, National Association of County and City Health Officials, and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine thanked the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health in a Jan. 17 letter for advancing a bill that would reform regulation of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs.

In September, the subcommittee hosted a hearing on this topic and Pew testified on the need for changes to the monograph system. The measure incorporates key elements from that testimony as well as Pew’s principles for such reform. It would eliminate the burdensome rule-making process for changing OTC monographs and allow for more funding to the Food and Drug Administration through new user fees.