Fred Upton, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. Diana DeGette have recently launched the 21st Century Cures initiative, a bill intended to improve clinical trials and expedite the drug and device approval process. Upton and Degette plan to publish a draft bill later this month. John Lewis, EVP of the Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO) comments, “We have spent time with Energy and Commerce staff to work on this and provide some perspective and technical advice. While identifying some of the roadblocks in research is relatively easy, actually working through legislative proposals to fix them is difficult because there are limitations to what Congress can actually do.”
This initiative is among countless others working to help streamline the clinical trial process; many of which highlight major issues such as updating and simplifying the US clinical trials database and refining the IRB process. The congressmen also address the importance of patient perspective and transparency of clinical trial information, both of which have been popular topics for reform.
To read Zachary Brennan’s article on Outsourcing-Pharma.com, click here. To read Upton and DeGette’s announcement, click here.