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FEBRUARY 2005 > Interviews with the offices of Senator Dianne Feinstein and Congresswoman Deborah Pryce > In the Spotlight with Dan Glickman, President & CEO of the MPAA > Leavitt confirmed new HHS Secretary > Forbes article warns that drug safety concerns could slow cancer research > Town Hall event featuring Congressman Michael Bilirakis > Washingtonian Magazine Awards Luncheon Back to Archive Home
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Senate Cancer Coalition and the House Cancer Caucus: This past month, Friends of Cancer Research interviewed the offices of Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who is a co-chair of the Senate Cancer Coalition, and Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (R-OH), who is a co-chair of the House Cancer Caucus. These two women and the organizations they help lead, work in a bipartisan manner to educate their fellow members about cancer issues and promote policies beneficial to cancer patients and researchers. Friends of Cancer Research would like to thank the leaders and members of these organizations and encourage others to sign up. In fact, the Senate Cancer Coalition is presently recruiting new members. The interviews consisted of basic questions about each organization’s mission, membership, history, accomplishments, current priorities, and future goals. Below are some highlights. To read both interviews, please click on our on-line feature article: Fighting Cancer On The Hill.
NIH OUTLOOK Funding Update Friends of Cancer Research recently joined 35 other health policy organizations in a sign on letter from “One Voice Against Cancer” to the White House respectfully urging both the Administration and Congress to make funding for cancer research and programs a priority in fiscal year (FY) 2006. The letter made several funding recommendations including a 6% increase of $1.7 billion for the NIH (for a total of $30.1 billion). The letter also voiced strong support for the NCI’s Professional Judgment budget, which “represents our national battle plan against cancer, outlining the critical core research that is currently underway as well as the most promising and extraordinary research opportunities.” This year’s Professional Judgment budget request is $6.17 billion for FY 2006. As explained in the letter, this request is arrived at “through an open and public process and reflects the best thinking of cancer researchers, patients, clinicians, and other constituency groups and is focused on the Institute’s goal of eliminating suffering and death from cancer by the year 2015.” Although the Professional Judgment budget represents the ideal funding level, the signatories also identified a $386 million increase (8%) for NCI as the minimum amount necessary to protect our cancer research enterprise and maintain the current pace of discovery. The health policy community has a tough road ahead in pursuing these funding recommendations as the White House’s budget is likely to call for flat or reduced funding for many health related agencies like NIH. Leavitt Confirmed as HHS Secretary, Replacing Tommy Thompson
Former Utah Governor and EPA administrator Mike Leavitt will be the new HHS Secretary . He will take over the position during a time when several of the department’s marquee units are under financial pressure and national scrutiny. Health and Human Services, by Leavitt’s own account, controls the expenditure of nearly 25 percent of the federal government’s tax revenues through agencies such as the NIH/National Cancer Institute, the FDA, and the Medicare program. During his confirmation hearing, Leavitt expressed his desire to address the department’s ethical concerns: “HHS always needs to keep in mind the ethical implications of its decisions, to ensure that Americans can be proud, not only of the department’s scientific expertise, but also of the moral judgment of its leaders.” He went on to say, “At NIH we must march forward with life-saving research, and always hold the scientists, universities, and laboratories accountable for results.” The new HHS Secretary voiced strong support for preventative care and stated his belief that America deserved the very best in modern medical technology. Secretary Leavitt will immediately have a full agenda including the ongoing attention to safety issues at FDA, a long term funding crunch at federally overseen health coverage programs, and perceived conflict of interest on the part of HHS scientists. (Picture from www.whitehouse.gov) Gottlieb Warns that Drug Safety Concerns Could Slow Discoveries in Cancer Research In a recent Forbes article entitled “FDA Moves Cancer Cures Into The Slow Lane,” Dr. Sco If the tenor of the discussion at the advisory committee is any guide, then the FDA could take a much harder stand when it comes to the accelerated approval of new cancer drugs--requiring overwhelming evidence that a drug can melt away the majority of tumors before qualifying it for rapid approval. This could add years to the development of new cancer drugs, and require more of them to undergo all three phases of clinical trials, rather than letting the most promising new drugs that target unmet medical needs onto the market after only two rounds of clinical study, as is now customary.”
UPCOMING FOCR SYMPOSIUM ON PREVENTION AND EARLY DETECTION With the recent news of cancer surpassing heart disease as the number one killer in Americans under age 85, there has been a renewed urgency in the cancer community to approach cancer in the same way in which heart disease was successfully tackled: with a focus on prevention and early detection. On Monday February 7th in Tampa, Florida, Friends of Cancer Research together with The H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute will present an interactive symposium open to the public titled “The Next Steps to Fulfilling the Promise of Cancer Prevention and Early Detection.” Featuring some of the nation’s foremost cancer experts, the event will address barriers to and opportunities in cutting edge fields such as biomarkers, nanotechnology, and proteomics. Moderated by Susan Dentzer, Health Correspondent and Head of the Health Policy Unit of the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS, the panel will include special guest, Congressman Michael Bilirakis (R-FL, 9th) and Executive Editor of Fortune Magazine, Clifton Leaf. Also participating are Dr. Anna Barker, Deputy Director, National Cancer Institute; Dr. Gerard T. Kennealey, VP, Medical Oncology, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals; Dr. Rick Pazdur, Director, Oncology Drug Products Division, Food and Drug Administration; and Dr. Thomas A. Sellers, Associate Center Director for Cancer Prevention and Control, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute. The event will take place from 9-11 AM at the Moffitt Cancer Center’s Stabile Research Building Auditorium. For more information, please contact info@focr.org.
FOCR Chair and President Honored at
F ollowing the announcement in January that Washingtonian Magazine had named Friends Chair, Dr. Ellen Sigal, and Friends President, Marlene Malek, “Washingtonians of the Year,” the Washingtonian honored the two women this past month at an awards luncheon in DC held at the Willard InterContinental Hotel. Sigal and Malek, along with fifteen notable Washingtonians, were recognized at the event for making DC a better place. Eleanor Merrill, Publisher of The Washingtonian, welcomed the honorees and guests, and Gorden Peterson, Anchor of WJLA-TV presented the awards to honorees including Mayor Anthony Williams and Meet the Press host, Tim Russert.
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