Congress mandates pediatric cancer drug testing, extends pharma tax incentive
S. 932 — Give Kids a Chance Act of 2025 · Filed by Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) · 20 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 11, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill amends federal drug-approval law to require pharmaceutical companies developing molecularly targeted cancer drugs to conduct pediatric studies as a condition of adult approval, and extends a tax-incentive program (priority review vouchers) that rewards companies for developing rare pediatric disease treatments through 2029. The bill aims to ensure children with cancer have access to targeted therapies and to incentivize development of drugs for rare pediatric diseases.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a regulatory requirement that pharmaceutical companies conduct pediatric cancer studies as a condition of adult drug approval, paired with an extension of a tax-incentive voucher program for rare pediatric disease drugs. Both mechanisms are designed to increase drug development and testing in pediatric populations.
What the text implies
- The pediatric study requirement applies only to 'molecularly targeted' cancer drugs with novel active ingredients or combinations, potentially excluding older chemotherapy regimens from pediatric testing mandates.
- Priority review vouchers are transferable assets that can be sold to other companies, creating a secondary market where large pharma may purchase expedited review rights from smaller developers, concentrating the benefit.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
pharmaceutical companies developing molecularly targeted cancer drugs; biopharmaceutical firms developing rare pediatric disease treatments; companies purchasing priority review vouchers on secondary market