House passes medical cures bill

[JonLP24]

Source: The Hill

The House on Wednesday passed a medical innovation bill aimed at curing diseases, with the measure securing bipartisan support after months of negotiations.

The legislation, known as the 21st Century Cures Act, passed 392-26. It seeks to speed up the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of new drugs while investing new money in medical research.

The package also includes a range of other healthcare priorities, including $1 billion over two years to fight the epidemic of opioid addiction and $1.8 billion for Vice President Biden’s cancer “moonshot.”

The opioid money releases some pressure from a long-running dispute between the parties. Congress passed a bipartisan opioid bill before the election, but Democrats criticized that measure for lacking funding.

Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/308168-house-passes-medical-cures-bill

[greymattermom]

1. The CDMRP of DOD

is also funding alternatives to opiates. There are a lot of good ideas out there, and some of these studies will find new approaches to pain.

[Ligyron]

2. We could solve the opioid "problem" quickly with legalization.

There was almost no opioid problem prior to the Harrison Act. Typical "addicts" were older white women who eventually died peacefully in their sleep with money. Typical addict now spends hundreds a week and steals, prostitutes and robs to support their habit spreading disease in the process.

If it wasn't so counterproductive and pathetically useless it would almost be funny. Instead it's literally a crime.

[Dustlawyer]

3. Big Pharma wants treatments, not cures.

I bet this is another scheme lawmakers have for giving our tax dollars away to their big Donors.

I hope they can do something positive on opioid addiction without making things worse for people who need them.

[Daxter]

4. No money in curing diseases

Treating patients and feeding them pills is how big pharmacy makes money.

[andym]

6. Not quite true

they just up the price for one-time cures. So gene therapy to cure a recessive gene will just cost over $1M -- they will just take their profits up front-- if medical consumers let them get away with it.

[Daxter]

7. Thank you

I was not aware of that, any reading material that you can recommend?

[andym]

8. Here is one example.

https://globalgenes.org/raredaily/first-gene-therapy-drug-approved-europe-set-launch-priced-u-s-1-4-million/

"Glybera, the first gene therapy drug that has been approved by European regulators, is set to launch in Germany in early 2015 with a 1.1 million euro (U.S. $1.4 million) price tag, far surpassing the $440,000 annual price tag of Alexion’s Soliris, the previous most expensive drug. Gene therapy treats diseases caused by a mutation in a gene using a modified virus to insert a corrected copy of the gene into a person’s cells. Because gene therapy provides a working copy of a gene, it offers the possibility of a long-term, possibly permanent, cure; in the case of Glybera, benefits have been noted for up to six years so far."

[Daxter]

9. Thank you

I learned something new today :3

[Bayard]

5. Why in the world does big pharma need subsidies?

Americans already fund the cost of drug research. Why? Because other countries won't allow them to tack those costs onto drug prices.

While the additional funding going to mental health is commendable, as always, its what else is hidden in there. Both Sanders and Warren are blasting the bill as a pharma corp giveaway.