In this Nov. 19, 2014 file photo, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. speaks in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
BOSTON (AP) — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is shifting her focus from Wall Street to the nation’s top pharmaceutical companies.
The Massachusetts Democrat plans to file a bill next week that she said would help fund basic medical research by targeting pharmaceutical companies accused of breaking the law.
Warren’s bill would require that whenever drug companies enter into a settlement with the government over alleged wrongdoing, they must pay a portion of their annual profits over five years to support research at the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration.
She said budget cuts to both agencies have choked off support for research that could lead to breakthrough treatments against cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Ebola, autism and other conditions that effect millions in the United States and around the globe.