A piece of legislation called “The 21st Century Cures Act” is making its way through Congress. Scores of patient groups, professional organizations, and healthcare industry representatives are for it. Who isn’t for better cures?
But, like other aspirationally titled bills, the name only tells part of the story. A fact sheet from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, whose members championed the bill, states that major advances in genetics won’t make it from bench to bedside without funding and regulatory reforms: “Translating these discoveries into new treatments for patients, however, has proven to be difficult. HR 6 accelerates the discovery, development and delivery of life saving and life improving therapies.”
