Law Offers Drug Companies Vouchers in Exchange for New Cancer
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(http://abcnews.go.com/wn) (http://abcnews.go.com/nightline) (http://abcnews.go.com/thisweek) (http://abcnews.go.com/2020) (http://abcnews.go.com/) Search HOT TOPICS: James Holmes (http://abcnews.go.com/US/james-holmes-goofy-behavior-sign-psychosis-faking-expert/story?id=16844456) • Amelia Earhart (http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/earhart-search-returning-plane-pics-16840291) (http://abcnews.go.com/gma) (http://abcnews.go.com/) (http://abcnews.go.com/us) (http://abcnews.go.com/international) Home U.S. World (http://abcnews.go.com/politics) (http://abcnews.go.com/video) (http://abcnews.go.com/blotter) Politics Video Investigative (http://abcnews.go.com/health) (http://abcnews.go.com/entertainment) (http://abcnews.go.com/business) Health Entertainment Money (http://abcnews.go.com/technology) (http://abcnews.go.com/travel) ABC NEWS BLOGS (/BLOGS/) > Tech Travel HEALTH (HTTP://ABCNEWS.GO.COM/BLOGS/HEALTH) > RICHARD BESSER (HTTP://ABCNEWS.GO.COM/BLOGS/HEALTH/RICHARD-BESSER/) Richard Besser (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/richard-besser/) HEADLINES (/BLOGS/HEADLINES/) POLITICS (/BLOGS/POLITICS/) ENTERTAINMENT (/BLOGS/ENTERTAINMENT/) PREVIOUS DR. RICHARD BESSER’S TIPS FOR CUTTING SUGAR CONSUMPTION IN YOUR DAILY DIET (HTTP://ABCNEWS.GO.COM/BLOGS/HEALTH/2012/04/04/DR- RICHARD-BESSERS-TIPS- FOR-REDUCING-SUGAR- CONSUMPTION-IN-YOUR- DAILY-DIET/) By Enjoli Jul 9, 2012 9:38pm Francis Law Offers Drug Companies Vouchers in Exchange for New Cancer Drugs for Kids About Richard Besser Medical analysis and commentary from ABC News' chief Like 343 59 1 Text 6 | health and medical editor, Dr. Richard Besser. Categories Medical Unit NY Med (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/medical-(http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/ny- unit/) med/) Richard Besser (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/richard- besser/) Top Posts Image credit: Nancy Goodman/Kids v. Cancer President Obama signed a bill today that will provide incentives to drug companies to research and develop drugs for rare diseases. The Creating Hope Act grants pharmaceutical companies that create drugs for diseases like childhood cancers a voucher giving speedier review of any other drug they submit for approval. The Oval Office signature was a hard-fought victory for children like Mollie HIV Infections Rising in Young Gay Men in Urban US Ward (http://abcnews.go.com/WN/person-week-mollie-ward-cancer- (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/07/24/hiv- infections-rising-in-young-gay-men-in-urban-us/) crusader/story?id=11665006#.T_tFn8h1KVo), 11, who survived a rare form of pancreatic cancer thanks to an experimental drug, and for other families Largest Food-Poisoning Outbreak in Homeless Shelter in who have fought childhood cancers. 10 Years (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/07/23/homeless- Nancy Goodman, founder of Kids v. Cancer (http://www.kidsvcancer.org/), shelter-serves-contaminated-food-sends-60-people-to- which is devoted to pediatric cancer research, lost her son Jacob Froman, 10, hospital/) to a rare form of brain cancer nearly four years ago. He’d been diagnosed at James Holmes Gave No Indication of Violent Delusions the age of 8. (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/07/23/james- holmes-gave-no-indication-of-violent-delusions/) She was instrumental in getting the bill passed. She and others said that drug companies had little financial incentive to develop new treatments because Panel Urges Expanded Use of Antiretrovirals for HIV childhood cancers are so rare. (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/07/23/panel- urges-expanded-use-of-antiretrovirals-for-hiv/) “The reason I started working on the Creating Hope Act was that I found very End to AIDS Epidemic: Is It Near? early on that there are just very few drugs to treat kids with cancer,” she told (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/07/22/end-to- ABC News. “We created a big, fat carrot. The carrot is a voucher.” aids-epidemic-is-it-near/) While 50 new drugs for adult cancer have been released in the last 20 years, just one expressly for pediatric cancer has gotten initial Food and Drug Administration approval, doctors say. Top Stories on ABC News The track record for drugs for other pediatric rare diseases is even worse. (http://abcnews.go.com/xmldata/rss? id=26) “The reason that companies don’t make pediatric drugs is all market force driven,” said Dr. Henry Friedman, an neuro-oncologist at Duke University Medical Center. “Companies have an obligation to their shareholders to make money. The pediatric diseases by and large are such low numbers. … The incentive to make pediatric drugs is very small.” Goodman said the measure was smart legislation and an attempt to ensure that more families don’t experience what she has. “I don’t think the American public realizes how devastating pediatric cancer is,” she said. “It’s far worse than any other adult cancer. There’s something unfair and unjust about the death of a child.” SHOWS: World News (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/topics/show/world-news/) Like 343 59 1 6 Text | MORE FROM ABC NEWS FROM AROUND THE WEB Where Is Sarah Palin? 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RICHARD BESSER’S TIPS FOR CUTTING SUGAR CONSUMPTION IN YOUR DAILY DIET (http://abcnews.go.com/US/aurora-massacre-miracle- (HTTP://ABCNEWS.GO.COM/BLOGS/HEALTH/2012/04/04/DR- woman-shot-face-recover-fully/story?id=16844728) RICHARD-BESSERS-TIPS- FOR-REDUCING-SUGAR- Colorado Shooting Miracle: Woman Shot in Face CONSUMPTION-IN-YOUR- DAILY-DIET/) to Recover (http://abcnews.go.com/US/aurora- massacre-miracle-woman-shot-face-recover- fully/story?id=16844728) Pancreatic Cancer Diagnosed With Pancreatic Cancer? Chat With Our Cancer Info Experts. www.CancerCenter.com Lung Cancer Compare The Top Lung Cancer Treatments and Resources Here! (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/video/new-york-holds- lung-cancer-info-guide.com public-hearing-sugary-drinks-ban-16845718) Watch: New York Holds Public Hearing on prostate cancer Worried About Prostate Cancer? See Symptoms, Treatments & more. Sugary Drinks Ban gacancer.com (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/video/new- york-holds-public-hearing-sugary-drinks-ban- Cancer Treatment Centers 16845718) Learn About The Top Cancer Treatment Facilities Here! kidscancernetwork.org USER COMMENTS So what. Who’s going to be the one to get em to market the cure? (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/video/place-trailer- 16815001) POSTED BY: KELLY SANDERLIN | JULY 9, 2012 JULY 9, 2012, 10:22 PM Watch: 'In One Place': Trailer (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/video/place- It’s extremely difficult to conduct clinical studies for oncology patients, doubly so for pediatric patients. Finding an trailer-16815001) appropriate candidate to simply test the medicine is not easy. Vetting a trial candidate is complex…how advanced is the disease, has the patient tried prior therapy, are they well enough to try a new therapy, how well is the oncology patient to survive through the next week- all relevance to the scientific process. It’s not about the bottom line, but conducting studies in a manner that yields an outcome that can be interpreted as being an actual benefit to the patient. The ability Subscribe to study patients on an experimental drug is overwhelmingly difficult and not every experiment shows positive results. Hopefully this brings an incentive to conduct new studies which lead to cures for these devastating diseases.