Join Us at Partnering for Cures 2010

Be a part of an effort that brings together people with the expertise, experience, and creativity needed to transform the medical research system. Join us at Partnering for Cures to be held December 14 and 15 in New York.

This year’s program will feature cutting-edge discussions about key topics in medical research – from translational research to data frameworks, from regulatory science to new business models to accelerate therapeutic development.

Among the speakers will be medical research decision and policy makers, high-profile philanthropists, leaders of innovative nonprofit foundations, forward-thinking industry executives, and scientists engaged in some of the most ground-breaking research on the globe. Confirmed speakers include:

• Margaret Hamburg
  Commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  
• Carolyn M. Clancy
  Director, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
  
• Delos (Toby) Cosgrove, M.D.
  Chief Executive Officer and President, Cleveland Clinic
  
• Jesse Dylan
  Founder, Lybba.org; Filmmaker, Creative Director and CEO, FreeForm
  
• Maria C. Freire
  President, The Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation
  
• Stephen H. Friend
  President, CEO, and Co-Founder, Sage Bionetworks
  
• Jeff Hammerbacher
  Vice President, Products, Cloudera
  
• Isaac (Zak) S. Kohane
  Harvard Medical School, Children's Hospital Medical Center
  
• Edison T. Liu, M.D.
  Executive Director, Genome Institute of Singapore
  
• Susan Love
  President, Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation
  

The Partnering for Cures agenda will feature:

• One-on-One Partnering Meetings. Connect with nontraditional allies to explore collaboration and develop new strategies.
  
• Therapeutic Affinity Roundtables. Engage with leaders in your field through focused, informal networking opportunities.
  
• Innovator Presentations. Learn first-hand about multi-sector collaborations, novel research portfolios, and effective partnerships at dozens of sessions featuring innovators on the frontlines.
  
• Hot-Button Panels. Participate in dynamic, candid, cutting-edge discussions about key topics in medical research including translational research, shelved compounds, data networks, and many more.
  
• Expert Consultations (new addition!). Access technical and scientific experts on-site to help you address some of your organization’s mission-critical challenges.
  

A Critical Need for Cures Acceleration

How appropriations can make a crucial difference in advancing medical progress

The Cures Acceleration Network (CAN) – authorized through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or health reform law – will allow the National Institutes of Health to seek out and support biotech companies, universities, and patient advocacy groups that are pursuing promising, innovative research. CAN promises to establish a new funding mechanism that promotes outcomes-driven research. As authorized, CAN would have a budget of $500 million to accelerate the development of “high need cures,” defined as drugs, biological products or devices:

• that are a priority to diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or treat harm from any disease or condition, and
• for which the incentives of the commercial market are unlikely to result in adequate or timely development.

But without appropriations, CAN will remain an unrealized promise.

We urge all in the patient advocacy community to support establishment of CAN within the NIH Office of the Director, as called for by the health reform law, with appropriated budget of $50-$150 million. Opportunities to change the trajectory of medical research across sectors and for all diseases do not come often. Consider reaching out to Members of House and Senate Appropriations Committees and their staff to voice your support for the Cures Acceleration Network