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WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Congress on Wednesday approved a major bill that would help improve understanding of cancer and other diseases and accelerate the development of new medicines.
The Senate voted 94 to 5 to approve the bill, called the 21st Century Cures Act, which sailed through the House of Representatives last week.
U.S. President Barack Obama was expected to sign it into law later this week.
The act included one billion U.S. dollars over two years, including 500 million dollars in 2017, to prevent opioid misuse and expand access to treatment for individuals with drug misuse disorders.
The bill also answered a call from Vice President Joe Biden for a "moonshot" in cancer research by investing 1.8 billion dollars in new resources to accelerate discoveries.
It would also invest nearly three billion dollars for two major biomedical research initiatives launched by the Obama administration, known as the BRAIN and Precision Medicine Initiatives, which are tackling diseases like Alzheimer's and creating new research models to find cures and better target treatments.
In addition, it's designed to modernize the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, including empowering it to "utilize flexible approaches in reviewing medical devices that represent breakthrough technologies."
"We are now one step closer to ending cancer as we know it, unlocking cures for diseases like Alzheimer' s, and helping people seeking treatment for opioid addiction finally get the help they need," Obama said in a statement after the Senate passed the legislation. "This bill will make a big difference, and I look forward to signing it as soon as it reaches my desk."
