NHC UPDATE
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Promoting Innovation -September 2009
Patients with chronic conditions have particularly strong interests in increasing their access to and fostering research on a full array of treatments to enhance their quality of life. A primary focus of many patient organizations includes supporting policies that ensure that new treatments are continually developed in the hope that each innovation will improve health and bring patients one step closer to prevention, early diagnosis, and cure.
To that end, the NHC has retained a firm to provide an analysis of various laws and proposals that affect the development of new treatments in both the public and private sectors, and to help the NHC formulate recommendations and develop new legislation that promotes such research.
The NHC also retained another firm to conduct qualitative research, including focus groups and in-depth interviews, to better understand the views of people with chronic conditions about government incentives to encourage the development of new treatments by the private sector. While many patients have concerns about government-sponsored incentives to industry and prefer a more altruistic motivation to alleviate pain and suffering, all saw government as playing a necessary role in developing better treatments faster.
As a result, the NHC will pursue a three-pronged, goal-oriented strategy to encourage the development of new treatments: (1) clarify the FDA approval process for diagnostics. (2) create FDA-enforced exclusivity periods for non-patentable products with substantial clinical benefit, and (3) enhance the development pipeline.
Staff Contact: Marc Boutin, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
