Congress Has Raw Materials to Help Implant Industry
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Makers of implantable medical devices have hopes that federal lawmakers soon will make it easier for them to obtain raw materials.
U.S. Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) told a private meeting of local industry executives last week that chances look good for congressional passage this fall of legislation that would limit product liability for producers of “biomaterials” used in devices.
Legislation is aimed at reducing shortages of raw materials, caused by manufacturers who’ve cut sales to device makers in an effort to limit their exposure to costly product-liability lawsuits. The proposal would allow manufacturers who weren’t involved in a device’s design, manufacture or sale to seek dismissal from litigation early in court proceedings.
In the Senate, legislation to lighten the liability of biomaterial manufacturers is part of a broader bill on product-liability issues--S5. Cox says the narrow provisions on biomaterials have a better chance of becoming law sooner than the bill as a whole does.
He is one of 100 sponsors of HR 872, a single-purpose bill in the House with the same provisions for biomaterial makers as the Senate bill.
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Barbara Marsh covers health care for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-7762 and at [email protected]
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