Policy Update

Final Stem-cell Funding Challenge Rebuffed by California Supreme Court

Last week, the California Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of two lower court rulings upholding the constitutionality of 2004's Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act. This clears the way for California's landmark $3 billion stem cell research program to at last proceed with its funding effort, which will be in the form of state-issued bonds. While the lawsuit did not technically prevent the state from issuing the bonds, it effectively forestalled funding for two years because of the impracticality of doing so while under a cloud of legal issues. Now, the state is expected to begin issuing the bonds as soon as next month.

Even without bond funding, the Proposition 71-created California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has managed to continue research through private philanthropy and a $150-million state loan deal brokered by Governor Schwarzenegger, making California the world's leading financer of human embryonic stem cell research. The absence of legal hurdles means that California will continue to take this scientific leadership role, even as political and moral debates over stem cell research continue, and caregivers wonder if the research will reveal new treatment options for loved ones. Read More

New Study Focuses on Alzheimer's and Economics

A coalition of not-for-profit organizations called ACT-AD (Accelerate Cure and Treatments for Alzheimer's Disease) released a study last week detailing the potential economic impact of new Alzheimer's treatments. The report is intended to increase awareness of the disease and its costs to society by emphasizing the economic and social value of pursuing new treatments that might delay the onset of the disease for a few years.

According to the study, a treatment made available by 2010 that could delay the onset of Alzheimer's by a range of up to five years would result in a present value benefit to the United States of $3.97 trillion by 2050. A treatment that delayed onset for even one year could save the country $1.2 trillion. The study's press release also specifically cited figures on the economic impact on caregivers: "Families who hire in-home caregivers face annual costs of up to $200,000, while families that decide to provide care themselves spend as many as 70 hours a week, severely compromising their own earning potential and costing employers an estimated $61 billion annually in lost productivity" (Alzheimer's Association).

The profound economic impact of the disease has led some experts to push for priority review for new Alzheimer's treatments by the Food and Drug Administration, giving them the same special treatment that cancer and HIV/AIDS drugs enjoy. "The mounting economic evidence that Alzheimer's disease could bankrupt our healthcare system, plus the promise posed by a number of new drugs in the pipelines, makes today the time to change," explained Robert Goldberg, Ph.D., Vice President for the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest and co-author of the study. Read More

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