WASHINGTON — The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) applauds Tuesday’s passage in the U.S. Senate of S. 2740, the Over-the-Counter Drug Safety, Innovation, and Reform Act by a vote of 91-2.

“Thanks to today’s decisive Senate action, our nation is one step closer to having a modern over-the-counter (O-T-C) regulatory framework that will better serve consumers and facilitate a new wave of innovation in OTC medicines,” said CHPA president and chief executive officer Scott Melville. “I want to commend sponsors Sens. Johnny Isakson (R, Ga.) and Bob Casey (D, Pa.), Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee members, and their staff for getting this important legislation, after several years of consideration, across the finish line in the Senate. We now hope for prompt consideration of S. 2740 by the House of Representatives that will send this bipartisan healthcare accomplishment to the president’s desk for his signature into law.  It is especially important to note that after years of leadership in healthcare policy, this bill is one of the final bills sponsored by Senator Johnny Isakson to pass the Senate prior to his retirement later this month.”

On October 31, 2019, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee approved S. 2740 by voice vote, and since then Senators Isakson and Casey have continued to advocate for its advancement. O-T-C Monograph reform legislation also has bicameral support with similar legislation having already passed in the U.S. House of Representatives three times in the past 2 years.

O-T-C Monograph reform is widely supported by a diverse and influential group of advocacy and public health organizations including the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Dental Association, American Public Health Association, March of Dimes, National Association of County and City Health Officials, Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and The Pew Charitable Trusts.