CONGRESSIONAL UPDATE

There is not much to report on appropriations at this time.  Committee heads have not yet agreed upon 302(b) allocations, which determine individual amounts for the 13 appropriation subcommittees.  Part of the hold-up is due to differences in the discretionary (determined by appropriation committees) spending limit approved by Congress in mid-April and President Bush’s FY 2004 request.  The congressional budget plan calls for $784.7 billion in discretionary spending, which is approximately $2 billion less than President Bush's request.  The budget resolution also includes $7.6 billion in unspecified cuts.

As a result of this discrepancy, the Labor-HHS-Education subcommittee may face great hurdles.  Although it is rumored that the FY 2004 allocation for Labor-HHS is approximately $138 billion (a $6 billion increase over FY 2003), the number does not account for about $2.2 billion in advance funding that has to be credited against the FY 2004 limit.  The budget resolution does not allow the use of advance funding in FY 2004, which means that the actual increase for the coming year may be closer to $1.5 billion.

"The NIH budget is very important to the cancer community - please let Congress know that it is imperative to keep the momentum going on appropriations."

FRIENDS ACCOMPLISHMENTS

May has been an extremely busy month for Friends of Cancer Research.  Our accomplishments include meeting with the LA Times Editorial Board, hosting an interactive public policy forum on opportunities and barriers in cancer research, and co-sponsoring with 5 Senators, a reception for Drs. Elias Zerhouni and Andy von Eschenbach at the Capitol.

LA Times Editorial Board Meeting

On May 7^th, Ellen V. Sigal, PhD, President of Friends, and Candace J. Rosen, JD, Executive Director of Friends, together with Mary Woolley, President, Research America met with Alex Raksin, Mary Engel, and Molly Selvin, health editorial writers for the LA Times, to discuss a February 25, 2003 editorial entitled “Honest Medical Research” written by Mr. Raksin.  Joining Friends and Research America in the discussion were Drs. Judith C. Gasson, Director, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA and Michael A. Friedman, President and CEO, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center.  Without adequate support of its assertions, the editorial posits, “drug company funding is corrupting medical research.”  The purpose of the meeting was to provide Mr. Raskin with an in-depth understanding of the drug development and clinical trials process and to underscore the importance of continued teamwork between industry scientists and university and government-based researchers. 

We view the meeting as an unbridled success.  Friends et al conveyed to the health editorial writers that constraining public-private partnerships would devastate research and retard the introduction of new drugs thereby betraying patient hopes here and around the world.  In addition, we opened up a new dialogue with Mr. Raksin who is not only following research integrity issues, but also is interested in NIH funding and ways to reform the FDA drug development process.

Confronting Cancer Today Symposium

On May 8^th, Friends together with the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, brought leading scientists, regulatory officials, and pharmaceutical representatives together for an amazing interactive policy forum entitled “Confronting Cancer Today.” 

Left to right:  Michael A. Friedman, MD, PhD, President and CEO of City of Hope; J. Michael Bishop, MD, Chancellor and University Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of California San Francisco; Judith C. Gasson, PhD, Director of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA; Inder M. Verma, PhD, Laboratory of Genetics Professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies

In our April update we provide detailed information about the participants as well as the topics of the speeches and panels.  In the next month or so, look at our website for more photos and excerpts from the presentations.

Soon after the symposium, the “Pink Sheet” a specialized weekly publication known as “The Bible” to the prescription pharmaceutical industry, which covers regulatory activities of FDA, CMS, and Congress as well as industry news, published an article on some of the challenges involved in hastening the FDA drug approval process and referenced the “Confronting Cancer Today” symposium (see The Pink Sheet, Vol. 65 No. 19, May 12, 2003).  In interviewing Dr. Rick Pazdur, one of our panelists and Director of Oncology Drug Products Division at FDA, the article highlights the tension inherent at FDA with providing seriously-ill patients access to therapy versus waiting for definitive randomized trials for safety and efficacy purposes.

Robert Ingram, Vice Chairman Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmith Kline; Stephen G. Dilly, MD, PhD, Vice President of Development Sciences for Genentech Inc.; and Richard Pazdur, MD, Director of the Oncology Drugs Product Division, FDA

Senate Reception and Dinner

From left to right:  Sen.Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD); Andrew von Eschenbach, MD, Director, National Cancer Institute; Ellen V. Sigal, PhD, Chairperson, Friends of Cancer Research; Marlene A. Malek, President, Friends of Cancer Research; Elias Zerhouni, MD, Director, National Institute of Health; Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS); and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA)

On May 20^th, Friends co-sponsored with Senators Ted Stevens (R-AK), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Bill Frist (R-TN), Tom Daschle (D-SD), and Judd Gregg (R-NH), a reception at the Capitol to welcome Drs. Elias Zerhouni and Andy von Eschenbach.  15 Senators, 1 Representative, and 1 former Senator attended the reception including:

Senators Stevens, Kennedy, Hollings, Clinton, and Feinstein offered remarks on the importance of a sustained commitment to research and the NIH.  Friends and the cancer community are grateful that the Senators will continue to prioritize funding for NIH despite all of the competing budgetary concerns.

After the reception, Friends partnered with ASCO and AACR to host a dinner at Teatro Goldoni.  Attending the dinner were representatives of patient groups, government, and industry.  The dinner afforded a more intimate opportunity for attendees to discuss with each other how interested parties can rally around developing partnerships to increase funding and awareness for cancer research.