WASHINGTON, DC - The House Energy and Commerce Committee today released its latest white paper in the 21st Century Cures initiative. The paper reviews the glaring gap between the number of diseases and the number of treatments. At the inaugural roundtable for 21st Century Cures, Margaret Anderson, the Executive Director of FasterCures, said, “There are 7,000 known diseases. We have treatments for only 500 of them. We have work to do." The committee is seeking input from patients and advocates regarding what cures and treatments are available for individual diseases, how they work with researchers and other patients, their experience with clinical trials, and what role government has played. All comments can be sent to cures@mail.house.gov by June 13, 2014.
The paper explains, “The committee appreciates that certain aspects of the discovery, development, and delivery cycle have different meanings for different patients. Depending on the condition or disease at issue, the state of biomedical research, and the translation of such research into treatments and cures, varies. We want to hear about the state of biomedical research and therapeutic innovation for specific diseases and better understand how Congress can help move the ball forward."
Full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) commented, “Ultimately, 21st Century Cures is about patients. Our efforts seek to provide hope to families all across the country. Their invaluable perspective and input in this process is critical and we look forward to partnering together in the months and years ahead as we seek a path to cures."
Read the complete paper online here.
Learn more about 21st Century Cures here, like the initiative on Facebook, follow along on Twitter, and join the conversation using #Path2Cures.
