This week marks the one-year anniversary of a rarity in Washington, DC: enactment of a health care bill with bipartisan majorities in both the House and Senate; support of the Administration; as well as the backing of patients, physicians, hospitals, and the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries.
The 21st Century Cures Act, signed into law Dec. 13, 2016, is one of the most significant pieces of health care legislation in recent years. Designed to accelerate the discovery, development and delivery of life-saving and life-improving therapies for patients, the law includes a number of process reforms at FDA to improve the efficiency and predictability of the drug and medical device review processes as well as significant funding for new health care research at NIH.