AHRQ
House Subcommittee Proposes Flat 2014 NIH Funding, Termination of AHRQ
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – A key subcommittee in the US House of Representatives has agreed on a bill that would keep the budget for the National Institutes of Health flat at $30.6 billion in 2013.
Industry observers have noted that the move from the outspoken Billy Tauzin, also known as the "Swamp Fox," to an insider business lobbyist-type like Castellani represents a shift in PhRMA's advocacy style. Where that leaves PhRMA's support for personalized medicine, a pet cause of Tauzin's, is hard to determine in the post-healthcare-reform climate in Washington.
According to Woodcock, comparative effectiveness research and personalized medicine can come together in conducting community-based research. But for that, the US research infrastructure needs to be improved.
Speaking at a conference hosted by the Personalized Medicine Coalition, Clancy emphasized that AHRQ is in the business of conducting research, not setting healthcare policy. As such, the agency will continue to investigate personalized medicine interventions to inform the work of the CDC and EGAPP.
NIH Director Collins Warns Against Comparative Effectiveness Research Without Genetic Strategies
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Studies on genomically defined subpopulations that would advance personalized medicine are "going to get lost in the wash by considering everybody equivalent, which we know they are not," Collins said at a colloquium on personalized medicine hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.