Bilirakis Joins Conversation on Child Cures
The Energy and Commerce Committee today held a roundtable, "Conversation On Child Cures" with patients and advocates, including an 18-year-old young man with cystic fibrosis, and parents of children with rare diseases.
Rock legend, Roger Daltrey of The Who, and co-founder of Teen Cancer America, led the conversation to continue the committee's work to find cures for millions of patients and families.
"Today's discussion gave us a unique opportunity to hear directly from some of the many children and teens who will benefit from the 21st Century Cures Act," said Congressman Bilirakis. "From the very beginning, our work to find 21st Century Cures integrated the ideas and perspectives of local patients and families. So many in my district in Florida, and across the country, shared with us their thoughts on how we may accelerate the process of getting cures to patients. Today's discussion allowed us to better understand why 21st Century Cures are crucial to our children and younger generations."
/
Roger Daltrey of The Who and Congressman Bilirakis discuss the 21st Century Cures Act
The 21st Century Cures Act, which passed the House by an overwhelming 344 votes last year, will encourage more research, invest in the future of medicine, and streamline the process of getting treatments and cures to market. The nonpartisan bill includes an important provision from Congressman Bilirakis to incentivize drug makers and innovators to "repurpose" major market drugs for life-threatening rare diseases and pediatric cancers, which opens the door to the development of hundreds of safe, effective, and affordable treatments for our nation's young patients.
"I am proud to join these inspiring children and young adults in this important fight," added Bilirakis. "We must do all that we can to get them the cures and treatments they need now. They cannot wait."
More information on this event is available here.