Congress funds brain tumor research and expands patient access to clinical trials
H.R. 2767 — BRAIN Act · Filed by Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) · 76 cosponsors · Introduced Apr 9, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The BRAIN Act authorizes $75 million over five years (2026–2030) for NIH-led research into glioblastoma and brain tumor immunotherapy (including CAR-T), establishes a searchable national registry of biospecimen collections, funds a public awareness campaign about cancer clinical trials and biomarker testing, supports pilot programs for brain tumor survivor care coordination, and directs the FDA to issue guidance expanding patient access to clinical trials. The bill benefits patients, researchers, and healthcare providers by improving treatment options, care continuity, and trial enrollment.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is direct federal funding for NIH research programs, public awareness campaigns, and pilot care-coordination projects—all aimed at improving treatment and outcomes for brain tumor patients. No tax carve-outs, immunity grants, or private subsidies are present.
What the text implies
- The biospecimen registry may increase data-sharing among researchers and pharmaceutical companies, potentially accelerating drug development but also raising privacy questions about specimen donor consent and re-use.
- FDA guidance on trial inclusion (Section 7) could expand off-label or compassionate-use pathways, potentially allowing faster patient access to experimental therapies but with less robust safety data.
- The CAR-T and glioblastoma networks fund 'team science' awards, which may favor large academic medical centers and established research institutions over smaller or community-based providers.
- Pilot programs for survivor care coordination may reveal gaps in insurance coverage or post-treatment support, potentially creating pressure for broader healthcare system reforms.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill funds research into rare, deadly cancers (glioblastoma) and expands patient access to clinical trials and survivorship care—direct public health gains. The biospecimen registry and awareness campaign increase transparency and patient knowledge. No provisions restrict citizen rights or create private liability shields; the mapped pharmaceutical companies face regulatory exposure (likely from expanded trial access and transparency), not subsidy.
Who stands to gain
- Academic medical centers and research institutions (NIH grant recipients)
- Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies developing glioblastoma and CAR-T therapies (via expanded
- Healthcare providers and hospitals participating in pilot programs and clinical trials
Named in the bill
National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI), FDA (Food and Drug Administration), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), Gilead Sciences (GH), Pfizer (PFE), DaVita (DVA), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
Where it stands
76 cosponsors: 64 Democrats, 12 Republicans.
- Apr 9, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Apr 9, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
3 lobbying clients named this bill on 5 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $5,703,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 4 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.
Brian Fitzpatrick, the sponsor, reported $2,362,211 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- American Medical Association — $5,643,000 on 2 filings
- National Brain Tumor Society — $40,000 on 2 filings
- National Brain Tumor Society — $20,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (12,887 characters) on Aug 21, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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