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We Need Your Help to Accelerate the Pace of Cures in America
Our Arthritis Foundation advocates and ambassadors were instrumental in advancing the 21st Century Cures Act bill and now we’re calling on our advocates and ambassadors again to help get the bill over the finish line. This landmark legislation would help accelerate the pace of cures in America. The bill would look at the full process –from discovery of clues in basic science and the drug and device development process to medicine delivery to patients – and includes a critical $10 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and $550 million for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make all these innovations happen. The bill is moving to the floor of the House for a full vote in two weeks, and we need as much help as we can get in getting all 435 members of Congress to vote Yes!Breaking Down Barriers to Care: What a Legislative Win Would Mean to You
The Arthritis Foundation has taken an active role in this legislation for the past few months to help break down barriers to care for our constituents. Here are some tangible results of our advocacy efforts and what the bill would mean to consumers:
- We met with Energy and Commerce Committee staff to discuss the patient stories of how 21st Century Cures would help people with arthritis. This bill would help ensure children are adequately represented in clinical trials; it would help patients more easily find out how to participate in clinical trials; and it would expand the use of the patient experience in drug development.
- We led a sign-on letter with 20 other patient groups asking for more emphasis on delivering new medications to treat arthritis.
- We led a sign-on letter with 12 other groups asking that the FDA be required to issue guidance on how drug companies can communicate responsible and truthful scientific and medical information that is not mentioned on the product’s label, and the final bill included this language. This provision is important to kids and adults with arthritis because many of their medications are used off-label.
To learn more about 21st Century Cures, join the Arthritis Foundation’s Advocacy and Access team on a one-hour 21st Century Cures Advocate Webinar on June 17 at 3 p.m. (EDT). Click here to register! A webinar recording will be available on the website.