March 2004 NEWSLETTER

April 6, 2004

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.

POLICY UPDATE

NIH Funding Update
On March 11, Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) sponsored an amendment to the FY 2005 Senate Budget resolution [S. Con. Res. 95] that would further increase NIH funding to an overall total of $29.9 billion for FY 2005 (a 7.2% increase). Co-sponsored by Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Susan Collins (R-ME), the amendment passed by a vote of 72–24 and the resolution to which it was attached passed by a vote of 51-45. Click here for a summary of the amendment and a breakdown of the vote.

Differences between the Senate’s bill and the House version must now be reconciled in conference. The request for a 7.2% increase in NIH funding faces a tough battle because it conflicts with the Bush administration’s request for 2.5% increase, which is favored by the House. Moreover, some in Congress feel that the NIH doubling has provided the agency with ample resources, especially in light of the federal budget deficit and increased demands for federal spending in other areas such as homeland security and national defense. However, advocates of continued increases in NIH funding fear that scientific momentum may be lost without sufficient resources to fund translational and clinical research opportunities generated by the NIH doubling.

On April 1st, NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni laid out his vision for the NIH and defended his agency's $28.8 billion budget request for FY 2005 before the Senate Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations. He highlighted the critical contributions of NIH intramural researchers and grantees, gave examples of how the NIH Roadmap effort will help shape our approach to patient-oriented research, and stressed the importance of strong fiscal stewardship. Some members of the committee expressed concern over the agency’s proposed cuts in inflationary increases for existing grants. Zerhouni explained that tight fiscal restraints made it difficult to both fund new research opportunities and provide investigators on continuing grants with inflationary increases. It would take an additional $220 million dollars, according to Zerhouni, for the NIH to provide the same number of new grant opportunities as last year and provide cost increases for ongoing projects in FY 2005.

Medicare Reimbursement Update
Dr. Margaret Tempero, President of ASCO, writing in a March 11th NY Times Letter to the Editor, said ASCO was working “vigorously” with legislators and the CMS to avoid disruption in cancer care due to reimbursement limitations. She noted that patients facing a Cancer diagnosis deserved to know the nature of changes to their treatment options, and that Oncologists were uncertain as to their ability to provide the best available treatment given the state of Medicare reimbursements.

FRIENDS ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Dartmouth Townhall: “Transforming Medicine”
On March 5th, Friends of Cancer Research, in partnership with Research America and Dartmouth College, convened its first town hall event of 2004 entitled: “Transforming Medicine: Accelerating the Impact of Scientific Discovery on Patient Care.” The event was held at Dartmouth’s Norris Cotton Cancer Center and feat ured keynote addresses from Senator Judd Gregg, NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, and NCI Director Andrew von Eschenbach.

Senator Judd Gregg	NCI Director Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach

NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni with Dr. Stephen Spielberg, Dean of the Dartmouth School Medicine

The interactive forum explored the impact of scientific discovery on patient care, reviewed the NIH Roadmap, and discussed options for accelerating scientific discovery. Moderated by Susan Dentzer (Health Correspondent for NewsHour with Jim Lehrer), the panel included Dr. Mark A. Israel (Director of the Norris Cancer Center), Dr. Peter Corr (Sr. VP of Science and Technology for Pfizer), Dr. Allen J. Dietrich (Norris Cancer Center), Dr. Nancy A. Speck (Norris Cancer Center), and cancer survivor Nancy Hellman (Smith College, Picker Engineering Program).

Panel discussion with (from left to right) Peter Corr, Elias Zerhouni, Mark Israel, and Andy von Eschenbach

Friends’ Chair Ellen Sigal Receives Advocacy Awards
Research America hosted its annual Advocacy Awards Dinner on March 16th. Friends’ Chairperson Ellen Sigal was awarded for her “Exceptional Contributions as a Volunteer Advocate for Medical and Health Research.” Receiving awards in other categories were the former Congressman Bob Michel, figure skater and cancer survivor Scott Hamilton, famous geneticist Eric Lander, and the American Society for Microbiology. The Research America Advocacy Awards Program honors outstanding advocates for a strong national medical and health research enterprise.

Research America Advocacy Award Winners’ Eric Lander and Ellen Sigal with Friends’ Board President Marlene Malek