Senate backs bipartisan bill to speed drugs and avert shortages

The Senate passed a major bipartisan bill on Thursday to prevent drug shortages and to speed federal approval of lifesaving medicines, including lower-cost generic versions of biotechnology products. A similar bill is on a fast track to approval in the House. President Obama, consumer groups and pharmaceutical companies strongly support the legislation. The measures reflect the government's effort to keep up with new therapies developed during a decade of rapid progress in biomedical research.