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| February
2004 NEWSLETTER |
March 4,
2004 |
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Friends of Cancer Research is a
non-profit organization that raises awareness and
provides public education on cancer research in order to
accelerate the nation's progress toward prevention and
treatment of cancer.
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POLICY UPDATE
NIH Funding
Update
On the
House side, there is little activity scheduled for the month
of March related to NIH funding. However, on the Senate
side, two appropriations hearings are scheduled related to the
Labor-HHS account.
The first is on March 25th at which
Secretary Thompson will testify. A hearing specific to
NIH appropriations is scheduled for April 1 and will feature
testimony from NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni and the
directors of the various NIH Institutes.
In
February, the American Association for the Advancement of
Science (AAAS) released a detailed analysis of the President’s
FY05 NIH budget proposal entitled “NIH 'Soft Landing' Turns
Hard in 2005.” According to the
report, the proposed growth rate of 2.5% for basic and applied
research is far below the growth rates of the past six
years.
Consequently, AAAS found that the “the total number of
Research Project Grants (RPGs) would barely increase by 1.4
percent; the number of new grants would rise slightly, but
only to the FY 2003 level after falling this year.” Although the expected
inflation rate for biomedical research in 2005 is 3.5%, the
average NIH grant would increase by just 1.3%.
Medicare Update
The
American Society of Clinical Oncology was very active
throughout the month of February on the Medicare reimbursement
issue. Early in
the month, their Clinical Practice Committee approved a
legislative position that would maintain total Medicare
payments for chemotherapy and related services at 2004 levels
for a two-year period.
ASCO followed later in the month with an extensive
media outreach effort that highlighted ASCO’s new position
statement on Medicare payments for drugs and drug
administration services.
As part of their media outreach campaign, ASCO
President Margaret Tempero and NCCS President
Ellen
Stovall (a
Friends’ Board Member) jointly hosted a Media Briefing on
"Cancer Policy Priorities in 2004 from the Patient and
Physician Perspective," at the National Press Club in
Washington,
D.C. ASCO also has been
conducting informal meetings on Capitol Hill to share their
new position and re-confirm the sense from Congress on the
timing and politics related to this
issue.
For more
information, visit ASCO’s drug
reimbursement web site.
FRIENDS'
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Launch of
Biomarker Discovery Project
Over the past several
months, Friends'
Chairperson Ellen Sigal assisted the Entertain Industry
Foundation with the formation of a
multi-disciplinary team comprised of
world-renowned scientists to identify and develop effective
technologies for molecular diagnostics. This collective
endeavor, entitled
the “Biomarker Discovery Project,” is part of a new program
operated by the Women’s Cancer Research Fund.
This fund will
provide millions of charitable dollars to support innovative
research, education and outreach directed at developing more
effective approaches to the early diagnosis, treatment and
prevention of all women’s cancers. The project was officially
launched at a March 1st Hollywood Gala chaired by Rita Wilson,
Tom Hanks, Kate Capshaw, and Steven Spielberg. Ellen Sigal
attended the event and was featured in a short video about the
project aired during the ceremony.
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| Ellen Sigal (right) with Friends’ Board
Member Sherry Lansing (Chairman and CEO, Paramount
Pictures) |
Dartmouth Townhall
On March 5th,
Friends of Cancer Research, in partnership with Research
America and Dartmouth University, will convene its first town
hall event of 2004 entitled: “Transforming Medicine:
Accelerating the Impact of Scientific Discovery on Patient
Care.” Featured guests include Senator Judd Gregg, NIH
Director Elias Zerhouni, NCI Director Andrew von Eschenbach
and Pfizer VP Peter Corr.
The interactive
forum will explore the impact of scientific discovery on
patient care, review the NIH Roadmap, and discuss options for
accelerating scientific discovery. Moderated by Susan Dentzer
(Health Correspondent for NewsHour with Jim Lehrer), the panel
will include Dr. Mark A. Israel (Director of the Norris Cancer
Cener), Dr. Allen J. Dietrich (Norris Cancer Center), Dr.
Nancy A. Speck (Norris Cancer Center), and cancer survivor
Nancy Hellman (Smith College, Picker Engineering
Program).
The forum will take place on Friday, March 5,
2004, from 4-6 p.m., at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical
Center, Auditorium E & F. For more information, please
contact Marina Ein at 202.775.0200.
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Ellen V. Sigal, PhD |
Marlene Malek
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Alan Balch, PhD
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Chairperson |
President
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Director
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