PRIA Logo™
119-hr-7854119th CongressWALLET

Medicines for the People Act

Sponsored By: Representative Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12]

Introduced

Summary

Creates a federally owned biomedical R&D institute that would develop drugs, devices, and biological products and prioritize public health needs and affordable access. It would push transparency, federal ownership of inventions, and options for public manufacturing or public-interest licensing.

Personalized for You

How does this bill affect your finances?

Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to download

Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

5 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.

Create a public biomedical institute

This bill would create the National Institute for Biomedical Research and Development. The Institute would run and fund full-cycle R&D to move drugs, devices, and biologics toward FDA approval. The Director would be able to use NIH labs, run clinical trials, contract for work, acquire scientific data and patents, and build facilities as needed.

Big federal funding for drug R&D

This bill would authorize $90 billion for the new Institute for fiscal year 2027. The funds would remain available until expended. This authorization would not itself spend money; later appropriations would determine outlays.

Government ownership and public manufacturing

This bill would make the Federal Government own patents and key manufacturing data for products developed or funded by the Institute. When the government holds a patent, the Director would provide public manufacturing if practicable, and publicly made products would be sold at cost. If public manufacture is not practicable, licenses to private makers would be non‑exclusive and tied to value from health technology assessments, with preference for nonprofit manufacturers and reinvestment of royalties into Institute R&D.

Open data, HTA rules, and public reports

This bill would require wide public sharing of preclinical and clinical data and cost information for Institute-funded work, with deidentification for privacy. Funded researchers would share data by the earlier of first publication or award end and must deposit final peer-reviewed manuscripts to PubMed Central within one year. The Institute would run formal, transparent health technology assessments that consider effectiveness, safety, costs, ethics, and patient impacts. The Director would evaluate Institute activities not later than five years after enactment and then annually, and publish reports with metrics and licensing details.

Board rules and ethics for the Institute

This bill would require the Secretary to set up a 15-member governing Board within 180 days. The Board would have limits on for-profit representation and include patient and civil-society members. The bill would bar recent for-profit pharmaceutical lobbyists and some recent company executives from appointment and restrict certain post-government communications, with penalties for violations.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12]

MI • D

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Casar, Greg [D-TX-35]

    TX • D

    Sponsored 9/28/2026

  • Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12]

    PA • D

    Sponsored 3/5/2026

  • Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick, Sheila [D-FL-20]

    FL • D

    Sponsored 3/5/2026

  • Rep. Grijalva, Adelita S. [D-AZ-7]

    AZ • D

    Sponsored 4/6/2026

  • Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4]

    IL • D

    Sponsored 4/16/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
Back to Legislation