Advocates Worry GOP’s Plan To Cut Orphan Drug Tax Credit Will Hurt Patients
The credit reimburses drug developers for half of their research costs on treatments meant for diseases with patient populations fewer than 200,000 people.
CQ:
Consumer Groups Protest Tax Plan Changes To Rare Disease Credit
Patient advocates fear that the Republican tax plans' proposed changes to a tax credit for drug companies that develop rare-disease treatments will chill research. Proponents of the GOP plans say they could save tens of billions of dollars over a decade and curb abuses by companies that exploit the credit. The House tax bill (HR 1), which the Ways and Means Committee approved Thursday and which will likely get a floor vote next week, would completely eliminate the Orphan Drug Tax Credit, which effectively reimburses drug developers for half of their research costs on treatments meant for diseases with patient populations fewer than 200,000 people. The Senate tax plan released Thursday would not go as far as the House in rolling back the incentive, but would still cut down the size of the multibillion-dollar subsidy for drug research. (Siddons, 11/10)
