WASHINGTON, DC - The House Energy and Commerce Committee today announced the first roundtable in the 21st Century Cures initiative and released the first white paper, 21st Century Cures: A Call to Action, seeking input and soliciting ideas on how Congress can help accelerate the discovery, development, and delivery of promising new treatments to patients. Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) yesterday released a video announcing the 21st Century Cures initiative aimed at accelerating the pace of cures in the 21st Century.
In the white paper, the committee notes, “Biomedical research and innovation, particularly at the molecular level, is happening at lightning speed alongside of, and supported by, equally breathtaking advancements in digital and personalized medicine, including the use of sensors, genomics, health information, and other technologies. Congress must proactively ensure that our nation’s laws and regulations keep pace. We want to solicit ideas on how Congress can effectively and responsibly do so and thus … seek input, answers, and feedback on the discovery, development, and delivery cycle."
In seeking feedback, the 21st Century Cures: A Call to Action paper concludes, “To ensure that the U.S. owns the discovery, development, and delivery cycle and thus remains the world leader in innovation, we need input, answers, and feedback. No idea is too small. No idea is too big. This is a cycle that ultimately touches every single American - whether they are a patient, loved one, caregiver, researcher, advocate, innovator, or government official. Advances in science and technology as well as personalized medicine present us with an enormous opportunity, but it’s going to take time and collaboration. We are interested in both how the individual pieces of the cycle can improve and modernize, but also how all the pieces of this cures cycle can work together more efficiently and effectively. To that end, we welcome any input or feedback on the questions raised in this white paper to cures@mail.house.gov by June 1, 2014. Our pursuit of 21st Century Cures is now underway."
Next Tuesday, May 6, 2014, at 3 PM in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building, the committee will host thought leaders in the first public discussion regarding the state of biomedical innovation in the United States and what else can be done to accelerate the process of bringing new treatments and cures to patients. Participants will include:
Dr. Francis Collins
Director of the National Institutes of Health
Dr. Janet Woodcock
Director of FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
Dr. Jeff Shuren
Director of FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health
Margaret Anderson
Executive Director of FasterCures
Dr. James Woolliscroft
Dean of the University of Michigan Medical School
Dr. Joe Gray
Associate Director for Translational Research, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Science University
Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach
President of Samaritan Health Initiatives Inc.
Chairman of Project FDA at the Manhattan Institute
Dr. Peter Huber
Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute
Dr. Ellen Sigal
Chairperson and Founder of Friends of Cancer Research
Sarah Despres
Pew Charitable Trusts
Jonathan Leff
Partner at Deerfield Management
Chairman of the Deerfield Institute
Further information on the roundtable is available here. Due to limited space, members of the media are requested to RSVP to noelle.clemente@mail.house.gov. A live webcast of the roundtable will also be available at the same link on May 6. Learn more about 21st Century Cures online here, join the effort on Facebook and Twitter, and contribute to the conversation using #Path2Cures.
