WASHINGTON, DC - The House of Representatives is set to vote on H.R. 6, the 21st Century Cures Act, later this week. H.R. 6 is a nonpartisan bill originating from the Energy and Commerce Committee’s 21st Century Cures initiative, launched over a year ago. The effort has seen continued support from patients, leading health care experts, and thought leaders across the country and from both sides of the aisle.
As the House prepares to vote on H.R. 6, here are the six things you need to know:
1. H.R. 6 is good for patients. The 21st Century Cures Act will help deliver more cures and treatments to patients more quickly by embracing incredible advances in science and technology. There are 10,000 known diseases, but we only have treatments for 500. The mapping of the human genome and rise of personalized medicine has the potential to unleash a new generation of health care. H.R. 6 allows scientists and regulators to fully embrace these advances and bridge the gap between the number of diseases and the number of treatments.
1. H.R. 6 is fiscally responsible and will help our economy. H.R. 6 creates the “Innovation Fund," a dedicated and fully-offset funding stream of $1.75 billion per year for five years for the National Institutes of Health and $110 million per year for five years for the Food and Drug Administration. The Innovation Fund is a temporary investment in science that is fully paid for in a bill that reduces the deficit and achieves permanent entitlement savings, all while retaining the role of congressional appropriators. Learn more HERE.
1. H.R. 6 will streamline regulations and modernize clinical trials. Currently it can take up to 15 years from initial molecular targeting to bring a drug to market. While maintaining the gold standard of safety and protecting patient privacy, H.R. 6 removes barriers to sharing and analyzing the growing amount of health data generated in research and clinical trials and improves efficiency at the FDA. The bill also modernizes clinical trials to test promising drugs on the patients most likely to benefit and get them to market as safely and as quickly as possible.
1. H.R. 6 is good for jobs. The United States has long been the leader in medical innovation, but in 2010, more biotechnology companies were formed in China than the United States. The investment in and dedication to science and research sends a signal that the United States remains the health care innovation capital of the world, helping to keep and create good jobs here at home.
1. On May 21, 2015, the Energy and Commerce Committee approved H.R. 6 by a unanimous vote of 51-0. After more than a year and dozens of roundtables and hearings, the 21st Century Cures Act was unanimously approved by the Energy and Commerce Committee. See what E&C members from both sides of the aisle are saying about this landmark legislation HERE and HERE.
1. H.R. 6 is a NONPARTISAN bill with 230 co-sponsors and support from hundreds of patient groups, universities, research institutions, cancer centers, technology groups, biopharmaceutical companies, medical device companies, and others.
Learn more HERE.
