HELP Committee strikes deal on PAHPA extension

The Senate HELP Committee has agreed to a clean five-year extension of priority review vouchers and a study on alternative incentives to biomedical research that delink research costs from the price of drugs.

Driving the news: The new proposals are part of a manager's amendment to the committee's original PAHPA draft. Senate HELP will mark up the legislation on Thursday.

Why it matters: The amendment, obtained by Axios, shows bipartisan agreement on issues that had previously divided Chair Bernie Sanders and ranking member Bill Cassidy.

• We told you this morning that priority review vouchers for medical countermeasures could be in trouble, but it looks like the Senate has ironed out its differences.

Of note: The manager's amendment also includes a section on policies to prevent drug shortages, which continues to divide lawmakers in the House of Representatives.