Advocacy at a Glance

Advocacy at a Glance offers you the bullet point summary of current advocacy issues associated with the goals of the Alliance for a Stronger FDA.

• Call-In Meeting Only -- Tuesday, April 28 Quarterly Alliance Member Meeting:  We are converting the April 28 member meeting into a teleconference-only meeting that will include an update on the appropriations process and other Alliance business.  We have an exciting speaker from FDA lined up for early June, and will be making an announcement soon.  Tuesday, April 28th Call-In Only Meeting Information, Time: 1:00-2:00 pm. 1-888-216-3633; Access Code: 24083.

• Patient Organizations: Please Join us for our May 5 Patient Engagement Luncheon. The Alliance is holding a special Patient Engagement Luncheon on May 5 which will focus on the critical importance of the FDA in spurring new cures and therapies. Richard Klein who serves as ‎Director, FDA Patient Liaison Program, will be speaking at the event.  Additionally, several leaders of major patient advocacy organizations will be providing their perspectives on the importance of a well-resourced FDA and the need for continued advocacy towards this goal. We will also be discussing an advocacy and messaging strategy specific to patient groups. For more information on the event, please e-mail Tony Curry. Patient groups that are not Alliance members are welcome at this meeting, but please contact Tony beforehand.

• Budget/Appropriations Process to Accelerate. We expect budget and appropriations to heat up very soon. For an overview of the situation, read this week’s Analysis and Commentary.

• House and Senate to Hold Hearings Next Week on FDA Medical Innovation. On this coming Tuesday, the Senate will be holding a hearing titled: "Continuing America’s Leadership: The Future of Medical Innovation for Patients."  For more information on the hearing please click here. Janet Woodcock and Jeff Shuren will testify. The House Energy and Commerce Committee announced that they will release the next draft of their proposed “Cures” legislation next week. The release will be followed by a hearing on April 30 with FDA and NIH officials testifying.

• FDA Briefing on Drugs Trials Snapshot Initiative. On April 27 at 1 p.m., FDA/CDER will brief stakeholders via webinar on its Drug Trials Snapshots initiative, a first step to help make clinical trial data more available and transparent. For more information, please click here

• Personal Care Products Safety Act to be Introduced. Senators Feinstein and Collins are planning to introduce a bipartisan bill related to FDA’s regulation of personal care products. This is notable because the bill appears to have broad industry and consumer support and would involve collection of user fees. Their "Dear Colleague" letter is provided.