To Ensure Progress Against Cancer, ASCO Advocates for an
Increase in NIH Funding
ASCO, along with
more than 270 medical research stakeholders, sent a letter to each
member of Congress stressing that long-term flat funding or a
reduction in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
"will slow research progress and squander invaluable scientific
progress to the detriment of our nation's health, our fragile
economy, and our global competitiveness."
ASCO Supports Legislation Addressing Drug
Shortage
At press time, Senator Amy Klobuchar's office was drafting
legislation that outlines steps to help alleviate drug shortages,
which ASCO and the co-conveners of the November 2010 Drug Shortages
Summit supports. The Preserving Access to Life-Saving Medications
Act includes several of the recommendations from a report issued by
the summit co-conveners.
The report calls for a coordinated effort to:
- Expand the FDA's authority to require manufacturer notification
of shortages and market withdrawals
- Provide incentives (eg, tax credits) to manufacturers that
produce critical drug products in exchange for guarantees of
continued production
- Require pharmaceutical manufacturers to confidentially notify
the FDA when there is a single active pharmaceutical ingredient or
manufacturing source
- Establish a modified or reduced user fee program for FDA
approval of generic drugs that would support expedited review of
applications
- Establish an expedited approval pathway for unapproved drugs
that are deemed critical therapies
The Summit-convened by ASCO, the American Society of
Anesthesiologists (ASA), the American Society of Health-System
Pharmacists (ASHP), and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices
(ISMP)-included participants from health professional
organizations, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and supply chain
entities. Representatives of the FDA and other regulatory agencies
attended portions of the meeting as observers.
The full report is available online at
www.asco.org/ascoaction.
ASCO Supports Introduction of Legislation that Addresses
Medical Liability
ASCO, along with 100 medical and physician specialty groups,
sent a letter to Representative Phil Gingrey, MD (R-GA) offering
support for H.R. 5, known as the Help Efficient, Accessible,
Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2011. The bill,
introduced by Dr. Gingrey, includes recommendations to repair the
medical liability system, reduce the growth of health-care costs,
and protect patients' access to care. ■
© 2011. American Society of Clinical Oncology. All Rights
Reserved.
