Seeking odd couples

When Sen. Orrin Hatch retires in December, the U.S. Congress will lose the last living link to the lawmakers who collaborated across party lines to transform the FDA into the gold standard for medical product oversight, create the generic drug industry and make R&D on rare diseases economically feasible.

To continue to adapt to scientific advances and changes in medicine and society, the American political system will need to replicate the collaborative model exemplified by the relationship between Hatch (R-Utah) and the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), or find other ways to reach bipartisan consensus on contentious public health challenges. ...