The Lupus Research Alliance commends the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the bipartisan House Amendment last night 392-26, which updated the 21st Century Cures Act, intended to spur the development of new medical treatments in many disease areas including lupus.

Having worked hard over the past several years to voice the needs of the lupus community as this legislation took shape, the Lupus Research Alliance and our constituents are particularly pleased about this significant milestone. Our goal is to ensure that patients are involved in research that accelerates the discovery, development, and delivery of better, safer treatments and a cure for lupus.

We greatly appreciate that the bill, with the Amendment, addresses specific requests our lupus advocates voiced that will:

• Strengthen and accelerate National Institutes of Health (NIH) biomedical research with a $4.8 billion investment
• Incorporate patient feedback in researching and evaluating potential new treatments
• Increase the numbers of clinical trials and streamline how they’re conducted
• Shorten time for drug development
• Include real-world evidence in FDA’s consideration of a new use for an approved drug
  We thank the authors of this bill for their vision in spearheading and championing this critical legislation: Fred Upton (R-MI), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Joe Pitts (R-PA) and Gene Green (D-TX).

The Lupus Research Alliance will continue to strongly advocate for the bill’s approval by the U.S. Senate.