Our Health Policy Matters

A few weeks ago, we were tantalized by the news that a new treatment for leukemia might be on the horizon.   Three very sick patients were injected with a new drug.   It was made from – of all things – a modified version of the virus that causes AIDS.   After a year, two were disease-free and the third had a 70% reduction in disease tissue.   One researcher was quoted as saying that the results “exceeded our wildest expectations.” But the rest of the story pointed out that the discovery almost didn’t happen.   There wasn’t enough research money for a full trial.   Neither the National Cancer Institute nor pharmaceutical companies had funding for the research.   A family foundation stepped up, but that’s why there were only enough funds for three patients to participate initially. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the largest funder of biomedical research in the United States.   In requesting a budget of $32 billion for FY2012, it n...

A few weeks ago, we were tantalized by the news that a new treatment for leukemia might be on the horizon.   Three very sick patients were injected with a new drug.   It was made from – of all things – a modified version of the virus that causes AIDS.   After a year, two were disease-free and the third had a 70% reduction in disease tissue.   One researcher was quoted as saying that the results “exceeded our wildest expectations.” But the rest of the story pointed out that the discovery almost didn’t happen.   There wasn’t enough research money for a full trial.   Neither the National Cancer Institute nor pharmaceutical companies had funding for the research.   A family foundation stepped up, but that’s why there were only enough funds for three patients to participate initially. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the largest funder of biomedical research in the United States.   In requesting a budget of $32 billion for FY2012, it n...