WASHINGTON, DC - The 21st Century Cures Act, an unprecedented nonpartisan bill to deliver new cures and treatments to patients, continues to remain a top legislative priority. As lawmakers prepare for the lame duck session, here’s a quick refresher on the #Path2Cures. As House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) has repeatedly described, 21st Century Cures as “a once-in-a-generation, transformational opportunity to change the way we treat disease."
IT STARTED AS AN IDEA
Chairman Upton came up with the idea of 21st Century Cures in late 2013 believing that it was time for Congress to do something positive to boost research and innovation, and accelerate the discovery, development, and delivery of new cures and treatments. Upton teamed up with Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and formally launched the effort via video in April 2014. Watch HERE. Meet the two little Michigan girls who helped inspire Cures HERE.
OPEN, TRANSPARENT, COLLABORATIVE PROCESS
The Energy and Commerce Committee released a half-dozen white papers and two discussion drafts, soliciting feedback every step of the way. The committee and its members held a number of hearings and dozens of roundtables in Washington and across the country. Since day one, the committee has been working with patients, patient advocates, researchers, academics, health professionals, and innovators, as well as the FDA, NIH, and White House.
INNOVATION GAME-CHANGER
Cures brings our health care infrastructure into the 21st century by catalyzing cutting-edge research and personalized medicine, modernizing clinical trials, updating FDA for the innovation era, and empowering patients to participate in research activities. 21st Century Cures has has helped change the conversation on boosting medical research, which is now universally promoted by policymakers.
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, 7,000 which are rare, there are treatments for only 500. The mapping of the human genome and rise of personalized medicine has the potential to unleash a new generation of health care. 21st Century Cures will allow scientists and regulators to fully embrace these advances and bridge the gap between the number of diseases and the number of treatments.
GOOD FOR JOBS & THE ECONOMY
21st Century Cures is not only a patients bill; it is a jobs bill. 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. The 21st Century Cures Act will also save money by developing cures rather than continuing to shoulder the heavy cost of chronic illness, so much of which is borne by taxpayers.
PASSED THE HOUSE 344-77
On July 10, 2015, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 6 by a bipartisan vote of 344-77. The Senate HELP Committee has passed 19 bills as part of it’s Innovation package. House and Senate leaders have worked closely with the administration and White House as the effort seeks to advance the president’s Precision Medicine Initiative and the vice president’s Cancer Moonshot.
OVER 700 GROUPS SUPPORT #CURESNOW
21st Century Cures has achieved strong support from the nation’s leading patient advocates, cancer groups, research universities, & research leaders.
BONUS VIDEO
Watch this video detailing our journey on the #Path2Cures HERE.
