S. 1862: ORPHAN Cures Act
A Senate bill (S.) in the 119th U.S. Congress.
Overview
| Congress | 119th U.S. Congress (2025–2026) |
|---|---|
| Type | Senate bill (S.) |
| Originating chamber | Senate |
| Introduced | 2025-05-22 |
| Sponsor | Sen. Barrasso, John [R-WY] |
| Policy area | Health |
| Cosponsors | 1 |
| Latest action | 2025-05-22 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text: CR S3119) |
| Last updated | 2025-12-05 |
Summary
Official summary (Introduced in Senate, 2025-05-22):
Optimizing Research Progress Hope And New Cures Act or the ORPHAN Cures Act
This bill modifies certain provisions under the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program with respect to orphan drugs.
The Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to negotiate the prices of certain prescription drugs under Medicare beginning in 2026. Among other requirements, drugs must have had market approval for at least 7 years (for drug products) or 11 years (for biologics) to qualify for negotiation. The program does not apply to orphan drugs that are approved to treat only one rare disease or condition.
The bill modifies these provisions so as to exclude any period in which a drug was an orphan drug from market approval calculations. It also excludes orphan drugs that are approved to treat more than one rare disease or condition from the program.
Cosponsors (1)
| Name | Party / state |
|---|---|
| Martin Heinrich | D NM (original cosponsor) 2025-05-22 |
Full text & official record
The official bill text, section-by-section summary, amendments, committee reports, and the complete legislative timeline for S. 1862 are published by Congress on congress.gov.
View S. 1862 on congress.gov →
Frequently asked questions
What is S. 1862?
S. 1862 is a Senate bill (S.) introduced in the 119th U.S. Congress, originating in the Senate. Official title: ORPHAN Cures Act.
Where can I read the full bill text?
The full text, cosponsors, amendments, and legislative status for S. 1862 are available on congress.gov.
Bill data: congress.gov API (official congressional records).