Oiling innovation
How 21st Century Cures Act would fund innovation at NIH, FDA
The addition of $10 billion in NIH funding and $550 million for FDA has transformed the 21st Century Cures Act from a bill that would have had only limited effects into legislation that could stimulate far-reaching changes to the discovery and development of therapies. The bill lifts public biomedical research out of a funding gulch, and does it in ways that put much more money and power in the hands of NIH directors.
If the bill passed by the Energy & Commerce Committee on May 21 (H.R. 6) is enacted into law without major changes, FDA could review hundreds of biomarker qualification applications and make major investments in patient-focused drug development, acting on two of the top regulatory priorities for biopharmaceutical companies and patient advocacy groups. ...