21st Century Cures

U.S. House and Energy Commerce Committee’s bipartisan 21st Century Cures initiative came to WMed's W.E. Upjohn M.D. Campus today as Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) held a roundtable session with health care leaders and innovators from Michigan and Washington for an exchange of ideas about how to accelerate the pace of new cures and treatments.  The discussion was one of about two dozen that Upton has held across the country as part of his 21st Century Cures initiative to promote conversation about how to accelerate the pace at which medical treatments and devices are discovered, developed and delivered to the American public.

Participants included Hal Jenson, MD, MBA, WMed's dean; Francis Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Institutes of Health; Jeffrey Shuren, MD, JD, director, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration; U.S. Rep. Dr. Michael Burgess of Texas, vice chairman of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee; Kirsten Axelsen, vice president, worldwide policy, Pfizer Inc.; Stephen Benoit, CEO, Metabolic Solutions Development Company; Douglas Boothe, executive vice president and general manager Perrigo Pharmaceuticals; Peter Jones, PhD, director and chief scientific officer of the Van Andel Institute; Kevin Lobo, chairman and CEO of Stryker Corporation; Tony Mandarino, director of the Alex Mandarino Foundation, and Joseph Mirro, MD, president, CEO, and chief medical officer of the West Michigan Cancer Center.

Discussions focused on the need for federal government's intervention to invest in research, promote new pathways to development, provide stable funding and lead the way to new collaborations.  Audience members included WMed faculty, medical students, and area researchers.

To read more or to view the complete Roundtable, click here.