The Research Advocate March 2011

In This Issue of The Research Advocate

Download the entire March 2011 Research Advocate as a PDF.

2011 Forum to Address Economy, Health Research

Research!America's eighth annual National Health Research Forum on March 15 will convene leaders from the government, academia, patient advocacy organizations and industry to explore such topics as the importance of research for the U.S. economy, job creation and improving Americans' health, and its role in health care reform and disease prevention.

Michael Riley, managing editor for Bloomberg Government, and Clive Crook, senior editor for The Atlantic, will moderate the discussion. Newly confirmed panelists include John J. Castellani, president and CEO, PhRMA; Mike Castle, U.S. Representative 1993-2010; Victor J. Dzau, MD, chancellor of health affairs, Duke University; Harry Johns, president and CEO, Alzheimer's Association; David C. Page, MD, director, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research; and Ellen V. Sigal, PhD, chair and founder, Friends of Cancer Research.

Representing the nation's federal research agencies will be Carolyn M. Clancy, MD, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Institutes of Health; Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and Margaret Hamburg, MD, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

The Forum will take place from noon to 3 p.m. on March 15 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. For information or to register, visit www.researchamerica.org/forums.

Policy Update

Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Debate Continues

On February 11, Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY), the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, released his proposal for the budget for the remainder of the 2011 fiscal year. The bill, H.R. 1, passed by the House on February 19, contains billions of dollars in cuts to discretionary domestic programs including National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and Food and Drug Administration. If the government cannot reach consensus on H.R. 1 or if they fail to enact another Continuing Resolution, the government may face a shut down. Specific cuts from current funding levels include $1.6 billion cut from NIH, $360 million from NSF, $1.75 billion from CDC, $25 million from AHRQ and $241 million from FDA. Other research-intensive agencies like DOE and EPA are also facing major cuts. In order for H.R. 1 to be enacted, it would have to pass the Senate and be signed by the president to become law.

President Releases Fiscal Year 2010 Budget

On February 14, President Barack Obama released his proposed budget for the fiscal year 2012. The president's budget included billions in cuts for domestic programs but provided increases for NIH, NSF, NIST, DOE, FDA and the CDC. AHRQ would receive a slight reduction in funding for fiscal year 2012.

The president believes that investing in research will be key to revitalizing the U.S. economy and providing the basis for the creation of new jobs. All of the increases in the president's budget were offset by decreases in other domestic discretionary programs.

Specific increases include an additional $745 million for NIH, $1.2 billion for NSF, $144 million for FDA and a slight increase for CDC. DOE would also receive a significant increase under the president's budget proposal. AHRQ would be cut by $12 million from current levels.

Over the coming months, budget resolutions or spending limits will be released by House and Senate committees, and then allocations will be decided by appropriation subcommittees. Hearings on department and agency budgets for FY 2012 are under way.

CPH Foundation

The Campaign for Public Health drafted a letter to House and Senate leaders emphasizing the value of the Prevention and Public Health Fund, urging that the fund not be diverted from its intent. The letter, delivered in mid February, was signed by former CDC directors, a former HHS secretary, former members of Congress, U.S. Surgeon Generals and other senior health leaders. CPH also compiled a chart that explains the impact that the president's 2012 budget proposal and proposals in Congress might have on CDC's budget.

Visit www.FundCDC.org to see the letter to Congress and the chart.

White House Releases Strategy on Innovation

President Barack Obama recently updated the Innovation Strategy his administration issued in September 2009. This new document, Strategy for American Innovation, explains the critical role of innovation in strengthening the U.S. economy.

The strategy details how the public and private sectors can work together to bring greater income, better jobs and improved health and quality of life to all U.S. citizens through innovation. It is framed according to three critical areas of innovation for sustainable growth and quality jobs: investment in the building blocks of American innovation, promoting market-based innovation and catalyzing breakthroughs for national priorities.

Achievements will be made in these areas by providing continued and increased federal funding for research; offering incentives and tax credits to encourage businesses and entrepreneurs to innovate; bringing talented scientists and entrepreneurs together to support innovation in cutting-edge areas; investing in translational science to quicken the pace of the development of new diagnostics, treatments and cures; and promoting breakthroughs in health care technology, such as electronic health records.

Your Congress-Your Health Launches

Current Members of Congress are now able to tell their constituents where they stand on issues related to health and medical research with the launch of Your Congress-Your Health.

Following on the heels of 2010's Your Candidates-Your Health, Your Congress-Your Health aims to ask each sitting Member of Congress to detail their feelings on research to improve health. There are currently 170 Members of Congress on the record.

Each Member has been sent a 15-question survey; as they respond, their answers will be available on the initiative's website, http://www.yourcongressyourhealth.org/. The site also includes tools to encourage members of your delegation to participate and ways to thank those who do participate.

A public opinion poll, with many of the same questions as the survey given to Members of Congress, is also set to be released.

Seffrin, Others Named to Presidential Advisory Group

John Seffrin, PhD, CEO of the American Cancer Society and a Research!America board member, has been named a member of the President's Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health.

Seffrin is one of 13 members of the Advisory Group. Two others have ties to Research!America as well: Elizabeth Mayer-Davis, PhD, of the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health; and Vivek Murthy, MD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School are all Research!America members.

Advocacy & Action

Act Now to Protect Research Funding!

The House of Representatives is debating unprecedented, multibillion dollar cuts to the budgets of NIH, CDC, AHRQ, NSF and FDA. These proposed reductions are a serious threat to our nation's health and economic competitiveness.

Contact your members of Congress TODAY and tell them funding for health research is vital to curing diseases, generating jobs now and in the future, and securing the economic well-being of America. Congress must hear from our community in a unified and timely way or vital research will be at risk.

Visit www.researchamerica.org/advocacy.

Member Spotlight: Endo Pharmaceuticals

Endo Pharmaceuticals is an integrated health care solutions company which aims to be the premier partner to health care professionals and payment providers, delivering an innovative suite of complementary diagnostics, drugs, devices and clinical data to meet the needs of patients in areas such as pain, urology, oncology and endocrinology.

Diversifying its overall business model and providing multiple therapeutic options to patients has allowed Endo to retool itself for rapidity and agility- two qualities needed to thrive as the economic and health care landscapes continue to shift.

"When I joined Endo in April 2008, my vision was to make Endo the premier health care solutions provider, supported by a business model that operates in critical parts of a segmented pharmaceutical industry-branded drugs, generics, devices and services," said Dave Holveck, chief executive officer.

With billion-dollar acquisitions in 2009 and 2010, Endo has transformed beyond its traditional pain business to now offer manufacturing capabilities and advanced drug delivery systems which will introduce new types of treatment for patients with various conditions.

Endo is also proud to partner with Research!America in the Life Sciences Investment Act Coalition. The coalition represents a diverse group of patient, academic, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, research and other organizations in the life sciences industry, and is leading the charge promoting policies that encourage research and investment to generate high-quality jobs.

"We admire the commitment of Research!America to the life sciences industry," Holveck said. "In this new era of health care, treatment decisions will be based on the need for high-quality and cost-effective care. Research, and government-sponsored research in particular, is crucial to the future of our industry-we must find new ways to treat and manage illness effectively and efficiently."

To learn more, visit www.endo.com.

President's Message

As we go to press, it is not clear whether the government will shut down or continue to operate without disruption; equally unclear is the state of R&D funding for 2011 or 2012. Two things are, however, crystal clear: Other nations are actively ramping up R&D, having learned from the U.S. of yore that supporting R&D will grow the economy; and health care costs are crushing U.S. business and citizens alike.

Harry Johns, CEO of the Alzheimer's Association, told me that by mid-century the (uninflated) costs for care for Alzheimer's patients will reach $1 trillion. That doesn't include costs of lost productivity for caregivers. Nor does it include the costs of preventable heart disease, cancer, diabetes or other scourges.

We hear loud cost-cutting voices in Congress calling for going back to 2008 spending levels, as though we can just suffer a little longer with disease like we can drive an old car another few years. We should not tolerate suggestions that progress on disease and disability will have to wait for the deficit to shrink. As Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) told AAAS Fellows in February, there is indeed a proper role for government in investing in our nation's future. Holt challenged the group to put their individual and collective influence as scientists-highly regarded in our society-to work in restoring science as a priority to a nation whose founding fathers were steeped in science and the societal, economic and humane progress it brings. The question remains: Will stakeholders in science speak out at this critical juncture? Take action now: Become an advocate in fact as well as in intention.

We can help.

Media Matters

Spotlight on Global Health Research

Research!America's chair, former Illinois Congressman John Edward Porter, coauthored an op-ed on The Huffington Post with Storer H. Rowley of Elmhurst College on the importance of global health research in Illinois. They wrote: "Global health research and development is not only in the health interest of Illinoisans-it has also become a hidden engine for new jobs and economic growth." The Washington Post published a letter to the editor about the devastating effects of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by Karen A. Goraleski, executive director of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH), and ASTMH Chair Peter J. Hotez, MD, PhD, of The George Washington University Medical Center. They wrote that poverty and NTDs go hand-in-hand and so efforts to reduce poverty should be coupled with a push for global health research funding.

Research in President's State of the Union, 2012 Budget

In an article in Medical Research Law & Policy Report, Porter, Research!America's chair, thanked President Barack Obama for making research a priority in his State of the Union address. Porter was quoted by the Imperial College of London's science magazine, I, Science, saying that "American jobs-quality jobs- are created with investments in scientific and technological research and development and it is here where much of our economic growth resides and will reside." Research!America's Mary Woolley told BioTechniques the president's State of the Union address "positions science as an American value in a way that has been true ever since the nation was founded by the men of the Enlightenment." In an article by LiveScience, she applauded the president for following through on his promises for science in his State of the Union and making medical, health and scientific research a priority in his 2012 budget proposal.

Outlook for Research in 2011 Budget

Woolley told The New Scientist she is hopeful that, despite the House of Representatives' proposed federal budget cuts, research to prevent disease and improve health will receive consistent funding for the remainder of 2011 and beyond. She told The Fiscal Times that it is critical to sustain research funding in 2011 in order to maintain our leadership in science and innovation as well as our global competitiveness.

Top 10 2011 Medical Research Trends

Margaret Anderson of FasterCures, a Research!America member, shared her thoughts on medical research trends for 2011 with The Huffington Post. She emphasized addressing the Valley of Death, the time between when medical discoveries are made and when they make it to market, as well as the importance of research collaborations among industry, government and academia. Other trends she noted include providing more grant opportunities to younger investigators, boosting regulatory science at FDA, discovering new models for research and expanding electronic health records in clinical research.

Research!America, Partners Kick off Hill Briefing Series on Vaccines

Research!America, the Global Health Council and the ONE Campaign hosted a Capitol Hill briefing to discuss the impact of vaccines and why investment in future vaccines is a cost-effective way to secure a healthier future globally and in the United States.

"Vaccines: The Best Shot For Our Health and Economy" was moderated by Michael Gersen, a columnist at the Washington Post and a senior fellow at the ONE Campaign.
Panelists included Jon Andrus, MD, Pan American Health Organization; Amie Batson, MPPM, U.S. Agency for International Development; Phil Hosbach, Sanofi Pasteur; and Col. Julia A. Lynch, MD, Walter Reed Army Institute for Research.

The briefing was the first in a series of four vaccine-focused briefings that will take place over the next several months.

The Global Health Council and sanofi-aventis are Research!America members.

New Jersey: 'Silicon Valley of Global Health'

Research!America brought together leaders from government, academia, business and nonprofits to discuss the state of global health R&D in New Jersey; the February meeting also found ways to ensure that New Jersey remains "the Silicon Valley of global health research," as Jeffrey Sturchio, CEO of the Global Health Council, described it. Dona DeLeon, D.C. office director for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, said that expanding the global health industry is important to boosting the state's economy.

At the meeting, Research!America released a poll on New Jersey residents' views and a fact sheet on global health R&D in New Jersey. To see the results of the poll and to download the fact sheet, visit our website at www.researchamerica.org/global_health.

Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) cited Research!America and data from the fact sheet on the House floor February 18. A video of his speech is also available on our website.

Global Health R&D Advocacy

Research!America has released an introductory fact sheet highlighting the contributions to global health research and development by five U.S. federal agencies and departments: National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States Agency for International Development, and Food and Drug Administration.

The U.S. government-through work conducted in these five key agencies and departments-is the largest funder of global health science and technology in the world, helping ensure American scientific and economic leadership while establishing an unparalleled legacy in global health. U.S. government support of global health R&D stimulates job growth here at home, promotes a stable global economy and ensures a safer, healthier world.

Visit http://www.researchamerica.org/global_health to download the fact sheet and find more resources about the impact of global health R&D.

Upcoming Research!America Events

See details about our 2011 National Health Research Forum and Advocacy Awards.

Special Thanks to New and Renewing Research!America Alliance Members

New member
National Minority Quality Forum

Renewing members
Alliance for Aging Research
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
American Association of Colleges of Nursing
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
American Society for Bone and Mineral Research
American Society for Virology
Association of Anatomy, Cell Biology, and Neurobiology Chairpersons
Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research
CDC Foundation
Caring for Carcinoid Foundation
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Foundation for the National Institutes of Health
Greater Akron Chamber
Johns Hopkins Medicine
Masonic Medical Research Laboratory
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
The Mount Sinai Medical Center/School of Medicine
National Osteoporosis Foundation
North Carolina Association for Biomedical Research
The Ohio State University College of Public Health
Oregon Health & Science University
Society for Neuroscience
Spina Bifida Association of America
Summa Health System
Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen)
University of Louisville School of Dentistry
University of Maryland at Baltimore School of Nursing
Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Not yet a member? Join Research!America today at www.researchamerica.org/become_member.

Download the entire March 2011 Research Advocate as a PDF.

Research! America

Polls & Publications

The Research Advocate March 2011

In This Issue of The Research Advocate

From Washington

From Research!America

Regular Features

In the News