Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Reauthorization Act of 2026
Introduced April 6, 2026 · Last action May 21, 2026
Plain English Summary
This bill extends the federal ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) research and drug development program through 2031, five years longer than currently authorized. It also adds new requirements for the FDA to review clinical trial data when renewing research grants, clarifies the definition of which clinical trials qualify for the program, and mandates an updated action plan and progress report on FDA efforts to accelerate therapies for ALS and other rare neurodegenerative diseases.
Who benefits
Pharmaceutical companies developing ALS and rare neurodegenerative disease treatments (particularly those seeking expedited regulatory pathways and grant funding); biotech firms conducting clinical trials for ALS therapies; research institutions and academic medical centers receiving grants for ALS research; patients with ALS and rare neurodegenerative diseases who gain access to experimental therapies through expanded and extended programs
Who pays / loses
U.S. federal government and taxpayers who fund the extended authorization through fiscal year 2031; competing disease research programs that may face budget constraints if ALS research receives prioritized funding
Funding & Lobbying Interests
Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies developing therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and rare neurodegenerative diseases are the primary financial beneficiaries of this extension, as they gain continued access to expedited FDA pathways, grant funding, and regulatory support. Biotech industry groups and patient advocacy organizations for ALS (such as The ALS Association) typically lobby for such reauthorizations. The bill's bipartisan sponsorship (Quigley and Calvert) suggests broad support across disease research advocacy coalitions, though specific donor information was not provided.
Sponsor
Sponsor information not available.
Vote Record
No recorded votes.
Campaign Finance — Primary Sponsor
No campaign finance data available yet.
501(c)(4) disclosure: Contributions from 501(c)(4) "dark money" organizations are not required to be publicly disclosed and are not reflected in the figures above. Data sourced from FEC public disclosure filings.
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