This week, the AUA signed on to a One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC) letter outlining our support for $10 billion of supplemental research funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The letter asks U.S. House of Representatives and Senate leadership to support research that was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Substantial costs have been incurred during the shutdown and there will be significant costs for the ramp-up of research activities and clinical trials which have not been addressed in previous COVID-19-related emergency supplementals. There have been significant consequences for clinical trials and the broader drug development process, meaning that life-saving medications will take significantly more time to become available to consumers.
OVAC is a collaboration of national non-profit organizations representing millions of Americans, delivering a unified message to Congress and the White House on the need for increased cancer-related appropriations. The AUA supports OVAC’s mission to secure this supplemental funding and restore the research ecosystem at the NIH.
Additionally, the AUA signed on to a Friends of the National Institute of Diabetes Digestive and Kidney Diseases (FoNIDDK) letter supporting the Research Investment to Spark the Economy (RISE) Act. The bipartisan, bicameral RISE Act would provide $25 billion in emergency relief—$10 billion of which would support NIH-funded research—to continue federally funded research that has been stalled, delayed, or even stopped as a result of the pandemic. All $25 billion would go toward offsetting the costs related to reductions in research productivity resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.
Read the OVAC letter here: 05_07_2021_OVAC_letter_on_Research_and_Clinical_Trial_Relief_May_2021.pdf
Read the FoNIDDK letter here: 05_07_2021_RISE_Act_Sign-on_Final.pdf