Obama admin decides to start a govt-run research center that would explore new remedies for diseases

[The Straight Story]

With industry developing fewer and fewer new drugs, the Obama administration has decided to start a government-run research center that would explore new remedies for diseases.

As part of the National Institutes of Health, the new National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences would seek to do as much research as necessary to attract drug company investment. Big Pharma has been spending less money on research and development of new medicines because of the years it takes to develop a new product, only to find in some cases that it can’t be marketed for health reasons or for reasons of limited profits. Washington hopes that by absorbing some of the R&D costs, manufacturers will be more willing to get involved in drug development.

Pharmaceutical companies claim that the average cost of bringing a single drug to market is $800 million and can exceed $1 billion. However, these estimates are based on a single study by the industry-funded Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development. In a recent study, Donald Light and Rebecca Warburton discovered that the figures used in the Tufts study were grossly exaggerated and included such expenses as an assumption that a typical drug company would have earned 11% had it invested the money rather than spent it on developing a new drug. The real average cost is closer to $200 million.

Getting funding for the new center could prove difficult, given budget constraints and the desire of House Republicans to slash federal spending. The administration hopes to bargain with GOP lawmakers by offering to downsize the NIH’s National Center for Research Resources and giving some of its functions to the new drug center.

http://www.allgov.com/Controversies/ViewNews/Obama_Administration_Threatens_to_Create_Billion_Dollar_Drug_Research_Center_110225

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. WOW going back to the 1970s and 80s

who knew?

That was the model of NIH originally. So perhaps we are gonna see new Federal CLINICAL RESEARCH CENTERS? The same we disolved a few years back? WHO KNEW!

[RKP5637]

2. I would feel better with the gov. researching drugs anyway than Big Pharma. n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. self delete

[tridim]

4. I know what substance they should start with..

Probably don't even need to mention it, this is DU. :)

[OHdem10]

5. Could we just have a focus on Jobs.

[CommonSensePLZ]

6. Umm, CDC? nt

[Modern_Matthew]

7. We should also force 100% transparency of Big Pharma research. n/t

[bobbolink]

8. And, of course, when it is discovered that a lot of diseases are caused by poverty......

.............?

[DCKit]

9. Government funds the research and Big Pharma reaps the profits.

I've heard this story before.

[tridim]

10. New "Remedies" doesn't necessarily mean just drugs.