House Panel’s Action Follows Similar Funding Boost in Senate Committee; Research Increase Critical to Combat Disease Afflicting Over Five Million in U.S.
WASHINGTON, DC, July 7, 2016—A U.S. House subcommittee has approved an appropriations bill containing a $350 million increase in funding for Alzheimer’s disease research, a vital step in the national effort to prevent and effectively treat by 2025 an illness currently afflicting over 5.4 million Americans.
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies advanced a measure to the full committee that would fund Alzheimer’s disease research at the National Institutes of Health at $1.26 billion for fiscal year 2017, $350 million more than the current level.
Last month, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a $400 million increase in Alzheimer’s research funding.
“Even though the national cost of treating Alzheimer’s disease is currently $226 billion and rising rapidly, less than one billion dollars has been invested annually in the research that will lead to more effective treatments and eventually a cure,” said UsAgainstAlzheimer’s co-founder and chairman George Vradenburg. “We commend this bipartisan action that recognizes the importance of increasing investment in Alzheimer’s research, not only as an act of compassion toward the millions who have and will have this cruel disease, but also as a smart, sensible and necessary investment in the innovations needed to reduce the economic cost to American families and society.”
Vradenburg said he is appreciative of subcommittee chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) and ranking Democratic member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) for their leadership in advancing the additional funding.
“We look forward to the House and Senate finalizing and reconciling their respective appropriations bills and sending the measure to President Obama,” Vradenburg said. “There are promising avenues of drug discovery and development that can bring new hope to Alzheimer’s sufferers and their caregivers. This additional funding will accelerate the process and move us closer to answers.”
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UsAgainstAlzheimer's (UsA2) is an innovative non-profit organization demanding – and delivering – a solution to Alzheimer’s. Driven by the suffering of millions of families, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s presses for greater urgency from government, industry and the scientific community in the quest for an Alzheimer's cure – accomplishing this through effective leadership, collaborative advocacy, and strategic investments.
Founded in 2010, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s has worked across sectors to: (1) secure the national goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer’s by 2025 and help secure nearly $500 million in additional public funding for Alzheimer’s research over the past few years; (2) drive global efforts that resulted in the leaders of the world’s most powerful nations, the G7 group, to embrace a similar 2025 goal and to call for greater levels of research investment and collaboration; and (3) forge industry commitments to improve efficiencies for an expedited drug discovery and approval process.
Contact: Tim Tassa
Phone: 202-263-2580
Email: [email protected]