On Wednesday, April 6, the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held the last in a series of three markups on the so-called Innovation for Healthier Americans Initiative. A separate bill sponsored by Sen. Joe Casey (D-PA) to incentivize the development of new treatments for newborns - the Promoting Life-Saving New Therapies for Neonates Act (S. 2041) - was submitted via an amendment from one of the bill's primary sponsors, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA). The newborn health amendment was submitted during the markup, one of a separate bill (S. 2700) related to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) workforce.
Sen. Cassidy – one of a handful of physicians serving in Congress – spoke powerfully on the dire need for new treatments for newborns and how his bill would help spur the innovation needed to help bring neonatal drug therapies into the 21st Century.
Sen. Cassidy – one of a handful of physicians serving in Congress – spoke powerfully on the dire need for new treatments for newborns and how his bill would help spur the innovation needed to help bring neonatal drug therapies into the 21st Century.
A staffer for Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) supporting the Cassidy-Casey bill at the markup. “Many of us know a child who was born prematurely, or a family whose child was born sick and unfortunately there were not enough treatment options available to save that child,” said Sen. Cassidy. “Hundreds of thousands of children born in the U.S. every year require intensive care after birth, but in the past 16 years, only one drug has been approved for these children—that doesn’t add up. We need to have more resources and therapies that are safe and available to use for these children. We have a long way to go, but breaking down barriers for the medical community to develop new treatments is a good start.”
While the amendment was eventually withdrawn by Sen. Cassidy as a procedural move, the conversation on newborn health at Wednesday’s high-profile markup is another example of the issue gathering momentum in this congressional session.
In other recent news, six leading children’s hospitals from across the country sent a letter applauding Sens. Cassidy and Casey for their work in introducing the bill and calling attention to a pressing issue in pediatric health. The letter – signed by Cheyenne Children’s Clinic (WY), Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Children’s Mercy Hospital and Clinics (MO), and Nationwide Children’s Hospital (OH) – also encouraged other senators to sign-on to the bill and “join this worthy effort.”
You too can join that effort by urging your senators to co-sponsor the Promoting Life-Saving New Therapies for Neonates Act. A pre-drafted letter is available through the Newborn Health Initiative’s action alert, here. For interested patient groups and advocacy organizations, an additional group sign-on letter is currently being circulated to demonstrate the growing breadth of support for this initiative. If your organization would consider adding its name to this letter, please reach out to Andy Rosenberg (arosenberg@thornrun.com).
While the amendment was eventually withdrawn by Sen. Cassidy as a procedural move, the conversation on newborn health at Wednesday’s high-profile markup is another example of the issue gathering momentum in this congressional session.
In other recent news, six leading children’s hospitals from across the country sent a letter applauding Sens. Cassidy and Casey for their work in introducing the bill and calling attention to a pressing issue in pediatric health. The letter – signed by Cheyenne Children’s Clinic (WY), Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Children’s Mercy Hospital and Clinics (MO), and Nationwide Children’s Hospital (OH) – also encouraged other senators to sign-on to the bill and “join this worthy effort.”
You too can join that effort by urging your senators to co-sponsor the Promoting Life-Saving New Therapies for Neonates Act. A pre-drafted letter is available through the Newborn Health Initiative’s action alert, here. For interested patient groups and advocacy organizations, an additional group sign-on letter is currently being circulated to demonstrate the growing breadth of support for this initiative. If your organization would consider adding its name to this letter, please reach out to Andy Rosenberg (arosenberg@thornrun.com).
