AST Supports Congressional 21st Century Cures Initiative
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
AST is dedicated to advancing the future of transplant research and is proud to support the House Energy and Commerce Chairman's 21st Century Cures Initiative, which aims to accelerate medical research to develop new cures and treatments for patients across the country. Read AST's letter to Congresswoman, Diana DeGette, and Congressman, Fred Upton, Chairman of the Energy & Commerce Committee.
The primary goal of the initiative is to accelerate the pace of the discovery, development, and delivery cycle, so that patients can get innovative new cures and treatments more quickly.
The nation's biomedical innovation ecosystem is under significant stress, citing the patent cliff facing the pharmaceutical industry, declining investment from venture capital, and decreasing research and development in critical areas. In order to address these issues, the experts who contributed to the report recommend closing scientific knowledge gaps, addressing inefficiencies in clinical trials, considering new economic incentives to increase investment, and encouraging even more innovation at the Food and Drug Administration.
President Obama's advisors put forth the following goal: "Double the current annual output of innovative new medicines for patients with important unmet medical needs, while increasing drug efficacy and safety, through industry, academia, and government working together to double the efficiency of drug development, by decreasing clinical failure, clinical trial costs, time to market, and regulatory uncertainty."
The 21st Century Cures Initiative ultimately touches everyone - patients, doctors, researchers, thought leaders. Email your ideas to cures@mail.house.gov and contribute to the conversation on Twitter and Facebook using the hashtag #Path2Cures.