Congressman Fred Upton is hoping to introduce his 21st Century Cures 2.0 legislation this week. It’s the follow up to the 2016 21st Century Cures legislation that aimed to speed up the approval of drugs and medical devices while increasing funding for medical research. He tells WSJM News 2.0 will include a new department called ARPA-H.
“It’s a new department within the NIH where they could look at a breakthrough drug or device, and say, ‘Wow, this is really promising,’” Upton said. “Maybe it’s with a disease like pancreatic cancer or some of the other particularly rare diseases where you may not have a large trial because the death rate is so high, to get people through to see what works and what doesn’t. It’s for them to identify this drug and say, “‘Let’s go.’”
Upton says the legislation invests in telemedicine, something that’s dramatically increased in use since the start of the pandemic. It also aims to improve the tracking of patient outcomes through new technology. He says the ARPA H department’s funding has previously been approved by the House, and the final bill will complete the establishment of the department. Upton and legislative partner Diana DeGette hope to see the bill approved and signed by the end of the year.
