As Finance chair, Grassley will become gatekeeper of biopharma bills

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said he will opt to serve as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee for the term beginning January, giving him the power to decide which drug pricing legislation makes it to the floor of the Senate. The role makes Grassley the single most important politician in Washington to the biopharmaceutical industry.

While his pro-pharma predecessor, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), used the position to block legislation that would be detrimental to the pharmaceutical industry, Grassley has endorsed policies the industry opposes (see "Midterms Make Grassley Senate Gatekeeper for Pharma Bills"). ...