2011-02-17

House Set to Vote Today on Proposed FY 2011 Cuts to Research Funding; Researchers Need to Contact Congress Now to Protect NIH
The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote today on a funding bill for the remainder of the current fiscal year that includes a dangerous $1.6 billion (5 percent) cut for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is imperative that researchers contact Congress to inform Representatives about the benefits of NIH-funded research and the threats posed by this cut. ASH encourages all members to visit the ASH Advocacy Center to send a letter to their Representative in support of NIH. Read more.

President Obama Submits FY 2012 Budget Proposal to Congress, Seeks 2.4 Percent Increase for NIH Over FY 2010
As the Congress debates funding for FY 2011, President Obama released his FY 2012 budget proposal, which contains approximately $32 billion in funding for NIH, an increase of $740 million over final FY 2010 funding levels. NIH Director Francis S. Collins’ presentation and related materials concerning the agency’s FY 2012 budget are available online at the NIH website. Read more.

Senate Rejects Health Reform Repeal Proposal; Republican Efforts Shift to Eliminating Funding for Implementation and Repealing Individual Provisions of Law
The U.S. Senate has rejected an amendment offered by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) that would have repealed the entire reform law enacted last year. The defeated amendment was identical to a bill passed last month by the House of Representatives and marks the first Senate attempt to repeal the law in the new 112^th Congress. Read more.

Chemotherapy Shortages Continue; ASH Works with U.S. Senate on Legislation
In response to the record-breaking shortage of generic drugs for cancer and other serious ailments, Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced legislation that would provide the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with tools to help address and prevent future medication shortages. The Preserving Access to Life-Saving Medications Act (S 296) will require prescription drug manufacturers to give early notification to the FDA of any incident that would likely result in a drug shortage. Read more.

Bone Marrow Failure Disease Research and Treatment Act Introduced in House
On February 10, 2011, Representative Doris Matsui (D-CA) introduced the Bone Marrow Failure Disease Research and Treatment Act of 2011 (HR 640). Read more.

ASH Publishes Updated ITP Guideline
The ASH Updated Clinical Practice Guideline on the Evaluation and Management of Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP) has been published in Blood First Edition.

ASH Submits Recommendations to NIH Imaging in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Workshop Request for Information
ASH has submitted recommendations to the Multi-Agency Tissue Engineering Science (MATES) Interagency Working Group on scientific issues the Society believes should be explored during an upcoming "Imaging in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine" workshop. The recommendations, which were based on the Society’s Policy Statement on Regenerative Medicine and a report from a 2009 ASH-convened regenerative medicine workshop, focus on the need to establish real-time multimodal imaging to track cells administered in regenerative medicine clinical trials and the need to develop and integrate preclinical molecular imaging platforms and labeling probes for specialized animal models. Read more.

NIH Announces Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Research Program
NIH has announced the Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Program. The program, a partnership between the NIH intramural and extramural communities and the Lasker Foundation, seeks to bridge the widening gap between cutting-edge research and improved patient care, and to nurture the next generation of clinical researchers. Those selected for the program will be able to take advantage of a unique combination of NIH funding, combining a period of independent research in the NIH Intramural Research Program for 5 to 7 years, with the opportunity for additional years of independent financial support either at the NIH or at an extramural research institution. Letters of intent for the program are due March 4, 2011, and applications are due April 4, 2011. Read more.

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