Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) is inviting think tanks, economists, state officials, patients and other stakeholders across the health care enterprise for suggestions on what Congress can do to rein in U.S. costs. The request follows a series of five committee hearings that focused on the costs in various sectors of health care, including prescription drugs.

The FDA issued a proposed rule to amend its regulation that defines a "biological product." The amendment incorporates changes brought about by the 2010 Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act and provides the agency's interpretation of the statutory terms "protein" and "chemically synthesized polypeptide." The proposed rule defines "protein" as any alpha amino acid polymer with a specific, defined sequence greater than 40 amino acids in size. A "chemically synthesized polypeptide" means any alpha amino acid polymer made entirely by chemical synthesis that is greater than 40 amino acids but less than 100 amino acids in size. Comments on the proposed rule should be submitted by Feb. 25.