The Cures 2.0 legislation in the works from Congressman Fred Upton of southwest Michigan and Congresswoman Dianna DeGette of Colorado is being designed to address the COVID-19 pandemic along with building upon the success of the original 21st Century Cures.
“The ultimate answer for COVID-19 is we’ve got to find a vaccine, and we are really excited about some of the progress that’s being made, and it’s been expedited in a major way, maybe even taking years off finding a solution with a successful vaccine,” said Upton.
Upton said there are some big wins that have come from the initial law, passed at the end of 2016.
“We’ve had some real successes. It looks like we’ve found a way to genetically engineer a cure for sickle cell (anemia), and maybe cystic fibrosis, too, some real cures now that have been approved. And let’s take that to the next league,” said Upton.
Since the lawmakers announced they were starting to work on this new bill, they have received nearly 500 comments from stakeholders. Based on that feedback, they expect Cures 2.0 to cover six key areas: pandemic preparedness and public health; caregiver integration; diversity in clinical trials, patient engagement in healthcare decision making; FDA modernization; and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services modernization. Upton and DeGette say they are planning to have legislation creating Cures 2.0 later this year.
