Senate leaders praise passage of 21st Century Cures Act

U.S. Sens. Roy Blunt (R-MO), Richard Burr (R-NC) and Pat Roberts (R-KS) applauded the recent Senate passage of the landmark 21st Century Cures Act.

The bipartisan bill would spur medical research that leads to new cures, advance the Precision Medicine Initiative, reform mental health systems and improve access, and take steps to address the nation’s drug epidemic.

“When everyone in your family is well, you have lots of problems; when someone is sick, you only have one problem,” Blunt said. “Today, the Senate took a major step toward helping every family that has faced, or will face, an incurable disease by accelerating progress toward life-saving cures.”

Blunt, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies, has led efforts to increase resources for biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health.

“I’m glad to see that priority reflected in this bill, but there is still more that needs to be done,” Blunt said. “That’s why I will continue working through the appropriations process to establish a pattern of responsible investing in groundbreaking research, especially in areas such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, and the Precision Medicine and BRAIN Initiatives.”

The 21st Century Cures Act also includes a number of provisions led by Burr: the Advancing Breakthrough Devices for Patients Act, the FDA Device Accountability Act, the Advancing Targeted Therapies for Rare Diseases Act and the Medical Countermeasure Innovation Act.

“This landmark legislation sends the unequivocal message that the United States has never been more serious about leading the world in medical innovation,” Burr said.

“As our nation ushers in a new and defining era of medical discovery and development, it is critical that we seize this opportunity to better serve Americans battling devastating diseases. This bill will not only spur the innovation that will save and improve lives, but better prepare us for the serious healthcare challenges and threats we face,” Burr added.

Roberts, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, called passage of the 21st Century Cures Act a true victory for every patient.

“This bipartisan legislation includes countless benefits for Kansans, giving healthcare providers new tools and drugs to heal and give hope to individuals – and reduce the time it takes to get treatments from the research bench directly to patients,” Roberts said.

The package sets priorities in research for cancer, precision medicine, regenerative medicine and diseases like Alzheimer’s, the senator noted. It also makes changes in how therapies are evaluated and approved.