FDA speeds up approval for new over-the-counter drugs.
H.R. 9774 — To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for expedited approval of priority nonprescription drugs, and for other purposes. · Filed by Robert Latta (R-OH) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jul 20, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill lets drug makers ask the FDA to fast-track new over-the-counter drugs. The FDA must decide within 60 days if a drug gets priority status. Priority drugs still must pass all safety tests. The FDA reviews them faster with a dedicated project lead. The FDA must list health problems where over-the-counter drugs could help. The program ends in 2032.
Who it affects
People who buy over-the-counter drugs may get new treatments faster. Drug makers can bring new over-the-counter products to stores more quickly.
One thing to notice
The bill speeds up review but does not change safety tests.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Jul 20, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 20, 2026 — 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.
Words to know
- over-the-counter drugs — Medicines people can buy without a doctor's prescription.
- priority status — A label that tells the FDA to review a drug faster.
- project lead — A person at the FDA who guides the drug review process.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (4,803 characters) on Aug 12, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,707 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.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-23.
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