Higher value on science innovation and education is needed in the United States according to both political and scientific leaders. The leaders participated in the “Best and Brightest Forum on Medical Innovation: Achieving Recovery Through Discovery” Friday at the Newseum, and discussed the economic impact that medical innovation policies can have.
U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (D-Penn.) delivered the keynote address and commented both from the political perspective and from the perspective of someone who has fought through serious health issues, including battling cancer twice.
Specter has recently introduced new legislation entitled the Cure Acceleration Network (CAN).
Said the Senator, “there is the so-called valley of death between what happens in the laboratory and what happens in application. A lot of great ideas from the National Institute of Health have been translated to the bed-side with great delays...This legislation would set up a separate agency with separate funding to push for clinical trials so that we can realize the benefits of this great research.”
Sen. Specter added that he just couldn’t stand by the Republican party given the economic problems of the country and the prospect of falling into another Great Depression. He said that was one of the driving forces behind him leaving the party.
Also present for the event was Dick Gephardt, former U.S. Democratic House Majority Leader and Founder/President of the Council for American Medical Innovation. Said Gephardt, “today’s policy decisions will have a long-term impact on the future of medical innovation in the United States.”