WASHINGTON, DC - The House Energy and Commerce Committee today released a discussion document in the 21st Century Cures initiative, outlining many of the ideas submitted over the past year, including ideas from both Republicans and Democrats. This release marks the beginning of the #Cures2015 legislative phase. In conjunction with the discussion document, the committee is releasing a new white paper, continuing its request for feedback on the ideas outlined in the discussion document to accelerate the discovery, development, and delivery of new cures and treatments.
Read the introduction to the white paper below and the complete paper online here.
It has been reported that among the 10,000 known diseases, 7,000 of which are considered rare, there are treatments for only 500. According to Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), it now takes “around 14 years and $2 billion or more" to develop a new drug and “more than 95 percent of [such] drugs fail during development."
In April 2014, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) partnered with Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) to conduct a comprehensive look at the cycle of cures - from discovery to development to delivery and back to discovery. Over the course of the last year, the committee has had the privilege of participating in this wide-ranging conversation with patients, providers, innovators, regulators, and researchers from around the country.
Countless ideas were submitted in response to the committee white papers, raised during the eight hearings convened by Health Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-PA), and discussed at over a dozen roundtables hosted both at the committee and by members in their districts all across the country. After this year of listening, it is clear that Congress must take bold action to accelerate the discovery, development, and delivery of promising new treatments and cures for patients and to maintain our nation’s standing as the biomedical innovation capital of the world. It is clear that America needs a strategy for 21st Century Cures.
The committee is circulating this discussion document, including a number of ideas proposed by both Republicans and Democrats, with the intent of continuing this national dialogue. Continued feedback is essential to this initiative’s success. Chairman Upton looks forward to continuing to work with both Republicans and Democrats on ideas to provide additional resources, including to the National Institutes of Health. While the legislative language released today is neither perfect nor complete, with the aforementioned goals in mind the committee has included provisions that would: (1) incorporate patient perspectives into the regulatory process and help address their unmet medical needs; (2) build the foundation for 21st century medicine; (3) streamline clinical trials; (4) support continued innovation at our federal public health agencies; and (5) modernize medical product regulation. The discussion is ongoing, and continued feedback in this collaborative effort is critical. …
Read the complete white paper online HERE.
