Statement by MassBio President & CEO Robert K. Coughlin on the 21st Century Cures Act Effort

Nov 29, 2016

“MassBio stands behind the 21st Century Cures Act, a carefully crafted bipartisan effort to accelerate the discovery, development, and delivery of life-saving and life-improving therapies. The bill will break down barriers to collaboration in research, provide funding for important research initiatives including the Cancer Moonshot and the Precision Medicine Initiative, and strengthen the FDA’s ability to engage with patients throughout the regulatory process.

We join our colleagues in Massachusetts’ academic medical centers, research institutions and patient organizations in applauding legislators on both sides of the aisle that have worked over the course of the entire last session to bring this package forward. The legislation includes provisions from the House version of 21st Century Cures, which passed the House in July, and from the package of “Innovation” bills that the Senate HELP Committee passed earlier this year.

Medical breakthroughs come when life sciences companies license basic research from academic institutions, invest hundreds of millions of dollars in clinical research on safety and efficacy, work for years with the FDA to meet strict standards for regulatory approval and build the infrastructure to manufacture and distribute that breakthrough out to patients around the world.

Any effort to delay or oppose this package serves only to maintain a status quo where it takes too long and costs too much to bring treatments to patients in need. We urge Congress to act swiftly to make these reforms law.” 

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