Senator Santorum Introduces Clinical Research Act Legislation Aims to Turn Science Into Treatments and Cures

Senator Santorum Introduces Clinical Research Act Legislation Aims to Turn Science Into Treatments and Cures

U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, today introduced the Clinical Research Act of 2005. The legislation provides for three new grant programs through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including clinical investigator advancement grants, clinical research infrastructure grants, and a demonstration program on partnerships in clinical research.

"I encourage my Senate colleagues to consider this important legislation which will establish additional grants to research and develop prevention and treatment of illnesses such as cancer, AIDS, and heart disease which affect millions of Americans each year," Senator Santorum said. "Pennsylvania is fortunate to have some of the best and most active clinical research programs in the country, for example the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State and the University of Pennsylvania; which are conducting remarkable research which will result in practical treatments and improvements to health care. This act will help these talented researchers take their promising, life-saving discoveries from the scientific bench to patients."

"This proposed legislation ensures that there is a national investment in clinical research infrastructure necessary to meet the challenges and opportunities that accompany our battles with deadly diseases over the decades to come," said Jay Moskowitz, Associate Vice President for Health Sciences Research at Pennsylvania State University. "This legislation also will provide our nation's healthcare professionals with vital clinical training resulting in greater means to promote wellness and improved quality of life of our entire population."

"As the nation's seventh-ranked recipient of NIH grants and in its association with one of the nation's largest and most successful academic medical centers, the University of Pittsburgh is exquisitely positioned to productively use the new mechanisms and monies associated with this legislation to the greatest possible extent," said Arthur Levine, M.D., Senior Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. "This will predictably lead to improving the health not only of Pennsylvanians, but in the University's areas of expertise, the health of the nation as a whole."

"The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine is appreciative of the leadership of Senator Santorum in introducing the Clinical Research Act of 2005, a bill that is vital to strengthening the infrastructure of America's academic health centers where breakthroughs in basic science are being translated into clinical advances for patients," said Dr. Arthur H. Rubenstein, Executive Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Dean of the School of Medicine. "The Clinical Research Act will support important programs and activities aimed at integrating research, clinical, and educational missions in a new model of care that cuts across traditional academic disciplinary and departmental lines."

Similar legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressmen Dave Weldon (R-FL) and Mike Doyle (D-PA).

http://santorum.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.View&ContentRecord_id=1312&Region_id=0&Issue_id=0&CFID=6802519&CFTOKEN=63480384