Dear Frank,
Thank you for taking the time to contact my office about the 21st Century Cures Act. I appreciate hearing from you.
There are currently over 7,000 rare diseases but fewer than 500 FDA-approved cures or treatments. New life-saving therapies are being discovered every day at Pennsylvania's leading medical institutions, but standing in the way of bringing these cures to market are multiple federal barriers. That is why I introduced along with Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) the Preserving Access to Orphan Drugs Act (S. 1128, 113th Congress). Our bill removes Obamacare taxes known to discourage drug makers from producing therapies used solely to treat rare conditions, since the pool of potential beneficiaries of these drugs is significantly smaller than in other diseases.
Specific to your concerns, Representative Fred Upton (R-MI) introduced H.R. 6 on May 19, 2015. Among its provisions, this legislation increases funding for the National Institutes of Health, requires the Food and Drug Administration to incorporate patient perspectives into the regulatory processes, authorizes a new set of standards for medical technology, and seeks to expedite clinical trials in order to bring safe and effective drugs to market.
On July 10,2015, the House passed H.R.6 in a 344-77 vote. It is currently pending before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, which is now working on similar legislation. Please be assured that I will keep your thought in mind as this measure makes its way through the Senate..
Thank you again for your correspondence. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I
can be of assistance.
Pat Toomey
U.S. Senator
No comments:
Post a Comment