29
2012
CONGRESSIONAL LEGISLATION MAY PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR MESOTHELIOMA RESEARCH
On January 27th, United States Congressman Leonard Lance announced legislation intended to speed the rate that drugs and treatments for rare diseases get from research laboratories into the hands of patients.
The bill is presently in front of the U.S. House of Representatives Health Subcommittee. While discussing the legislation, Congressman Lance was joined by mesothelioma patient Bonnie Anderson Anderson.
Mesothelioma is a rare fatal cancer of the lining of the lungs, caused by exposure to asbestos, that affects approximately 3,000 people annually. The new legislation is intended to help advance research in the aims of finding new treatments and a cure for the disease, and 1000’s of other rare diseases.
The proposed legislation, is similar to another piece of legislation working it’s way through Congress, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Orphan Drugs Act, that was designed to create incentives for pharmaceutical companies to conduct research and develop treatments for rare diseases, such as mesothelioma.
