FEDERALhearing transcript

Senate Hearing on Medical Research and Disease Cures

Original title: UNLOCKING THE CURES FOR AMERICA'S MOST DEADLY DISEASES

January 1, 2015

medical research healthcare FDA regulation disease treatment innovation incentives

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The Frame

What this does

This hearing explored potential policy shifts in federal medical research funding and regulatory processes that could impact the speed and cost of developing new treatments for major diseases.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Medical Research Community

Researchers and institutions are impacted by federal funding priorities and regulatory frameworks discussed in the hearing.

Patients with Chronic or Rare Diseases

Patients are affected by the pace of drug development and the availability of new treatments.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2015.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

The Senate Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness held a hearing on July 14, 2015, to examine strategies for accelerating medical breakthroughs and addressing the high costs and regulatory challenges associated with drug development.

Key Facts

The hearing was held on July 14, 2015, by the Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness.
Approximately 600,000 Americans were estimated to face cancer in 2015.
Alzheimer's disease was expected to cause 700,000 deaths in 2015.
Parkinson's disease affects nearly 500,000 people in the U.S.
Strokes affect 795,000 people in the U.S. annually.
Diabetes affects 25.8 million people in the U.S.
95 percent of rare diseases currently have no recognized treatments or cures.
Approximately 30 million patients in the U.S. suffer from rare diseases.
The average cost to get a single drug approved by the FDA is between $1 billion and $2 billion.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the purpose of this hearing?

The hearing was held to discuss current medical research efforts, identify areas for improvement, and explore ways to incentivize the development of cures for deadly diseases.

Who testified at the hearing?

Witnesses included former Senator Tom Coburn, Christopher Frangione of XPRIZE, Peter W. Huber of the Manhattan Institute, and Dr. Keith R. Yamamoto of the University of California, San Francisco.

Why It Matters

This hearing explored potential policy shifts in federal medical research funding and regulatory processes that could impact the speed and cost of developing new treatments for major diseases.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift80% confidence

Focus on Incentives over Funding

The hearing highlights a shift in focus toward creating market incentives for medical breakthroughs rather than solely relying on traditional research funding.

Ted Cruz XPRIZE

Connected Entities

personPeter W. Huber“Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute”Map →

personTom Coburn“Former U.S. Senator from Oklahoma and hearing witness”Map →

personTed Cruz“Chairman of the Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness”Map →

organizationFood and Drug Administration“Federal agency responsible for drug approval”Map →

personChristopher Frangione“Vice President, Prize Development, XPRIZE”Map →

personKeith R. Yamamoto“Vice Chancellor for Research, University of California, San Francisco”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance60
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy20
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment10
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz10
Current news / social attention level

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