POLICY UPDATE

NIH Funding Update
Starting on March 31, conferees from the House and Senate began working to reconcile differences in their respective chambers’ FY2005 budget resolutions. One such difference is an amendment to the Senate bill that calls for a 7.2% increase in NIH funding. This provision conflicts with the Bush administration’s request for 2.5% increase, which is favored by the House.

A congressional sign-on letter urging support of cancer funding is circulating around Capitol Hill. On the House side, Representatives Lois Capps (D-CA), Steve Israel (D-NY), Deborah Pryce (R-OH), and Sue Myrick (R-NC) are sponsoring a bipartisan “Dear Colleague” letter urging their colleagues to make cancer funding a national priority for FY2005. On the Senate side, sponsors include Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). The American Association of Cancer Research is urging advocates to contact their Senators and Representatives by May 7th and urge them to show their support by signing on to the letter. For a copy of the letters or to find out how you can help, please contact Mark Mendenhall.

FDA Funding Update
On April 1st, acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Lester M. Crawford appeared before the Committee on Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture where he explained the agency’s FY 2005 budget request of $1.845 billion. This amount includes $1.5 billion in budget authority and $350 million in user fees. He testified that the FDA’s plan to relocate 1,700 drug review personnel to a campus in White Rock would cost $33 million. Dr. Crawford also highlighted a recently released FDA report entitled "Innovation or Stagnation-- Challenge and Opportunity on the Critical Path to New Medical Products." According to Dr. Crawford, this document explains “the need for an aggressive, collaborative research effort to create a new generation of performance standards and predictive tools that will provide better answers about the safety and effectiveness of investigational products, faster and with more certainty.” The complete report can be downloaded here.

FRIENDS ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Friends’ Chairperson Receives Honors
The GW Medical Center sponsored a black-tie gala on April 2nd to benefit the GW Cancer Institute, an urban oncology center committed to understanding cancer disparities. Friends’ Chairperson, Ellen Sigal, was given the “Cancer Advocacy Achievement Award.” Receiving awards in other categories were Friends’ Board Member Zora Brown (Breast Cancer Resource Committee), in addition to Lance Armstrong (Tour de France champion), Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach (Director, National Cancer Institute), and Amy Goldson (wife of the late Dr. Alfred Goldson).

Dr. Sigal also is being awarded for “Outstanding Contributions in Advocacy & Cancer Research” at an upcoming luncheon hosted by The International Spirit of Life Foundation. The event will be held on May 7th at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington DC.

Upcoming Town Hall
Friends’ is in the early planning stages of our next town hall, which will be held on Capitol Hill in mid-July. The event will focus on obstacles to and opportunities for rapid advancements in the early detection and prevention of cancer. As always, we will feature panelists representing a variety of stakeholders including cancer centers, government, industry, and patients. This townhall will be one in a series that will explore the scientific, regulatory, technological, and institutional changes necessary to accelerate advancements in these fields.