California Life Sciences Association Praises Congressional Approval Of 21st Century Cures, Sending Landmark Medical Innovation Bill To President

WASHINGTON & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sara Radcliffe, President & CEO of the California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), the premier statewide public policy and business leadership organization representing California’s leading life sciences innovators, issued the following statement lauding the strong, bipartisan U.S. House and U.S. Senate passage of H.R. 34, the 21^st Century Cures Act. The CLSA-endorsed legislation, already approved by the U.S. House, passed the U.S. Senate today by a vote of 94 to 5, and now goes to President Obama:

“California Life Sciences Association applauds the strong, bipartisan Congressional approval of the 21st Century Cures Act, a landmark, bipartisan package of innovative reforms that will help propel the U.S. life sciences research, investment and innovation ecosystem, benefiting patients here and around the world for many years to come.”

“California Life Sciences Association applauds the strong, bipartisan Congressional approval of the 21^st Century Cures Act, a landmark, bipartisan package of innovative reforms that will help propel the U.S. life sciences research, investment and innovation ecosystem, benefiting patients here and around the world for many years to come.

“CLSA has been on the front lines supporting the 21^st Century Cures Act for over two years. We are pleased to see many patient-centered reforms included in the final version approved by the Senate today, particularly provisions that: make a significant investment in federal agencies conducting biomedical research; reauthorize the rare pediatric disease (RPD) priority review voucher (PRV) program; reduce administrative burdens for NIH researchers and enhance the NIH granting process; establish a priority review program at FDA for breakthrough medical devices technologies; bolster our nation’s biodefense and pandemic preparedness enterprise; improve FDA regulatory processes; advance precision medicine, and more.

“We thank the House and Senate leaders who’ve worked tirelessly to bring this bill to the finish line, particularly House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.). CLSA looks forward to President Obama signing the 21^st Century Cures Act into law, and is committed to ensuring proper funding and implementation of the law to safeguard its promise of helping bring new technologies and treatments to patients who desperately need them.”

The 21st Century Cures Act was approved by the U.S. House on Dec. 1 by a vote of 392-26. Click here to view CLSA’s statement.

Learn more about the 21^st Century Cures Act.

About California Life Sciences Association (CLSA)

California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) is the state’s largest and most influential life sciences advocacy and business leadership organization. With offices in Sacramento, San Diego, South San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington DC, CLSA works closely with industry, government, academia and others to shape public policy, improve access to innovative technologies and grow California’s life sciences economy. CLSA serves biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostics companies, research universities and institutes, investors and service providers throughout the Golden State. CLSA was founded in 2015 when the Bay Area Bioscience Association (BayBio) and the California Healthcare Institute (CHI) merged. Visit CLSA at www.califesciences.org, and follow us on Twitter @CALifeSciences, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.