21st Century Cures Act 2.0 Details Released

On June 22, House Energy & Commerce Committee members Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Fred Upton (R-MI) issued a press release and “Discussion Draft” for the proposed Cures 2.0 legislation that would update the 21st Century Cures Act, passed in December 2016, to improve how new medical treatments and therapies are delivered to patients.

The legislation includes a section that would authorize the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Health (ARPA-H), President Biden’s proposed new research institute that would be modeled on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and would have an initial focus on cancer and other diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s. The President’s budget, released on May 28, proposes funding ARPA-H at a level of $6.5 billion, which would be available through September 30, 2024.

In addition, the  Cures 2.0 draft legislation would also include the Research Investment to Spark the Economy (RISE) Act which would provide $25 billion for “research relief” to independent research institutions, public laboratories, and universities to continue their work on thousands of federally-backed projects. NAEVR has advocated for research relief since last year and has joined in conversations with dozens of House E&C Committee and Senate Health, Education, Pensions and Labor (HELP) Committee staff to urge that research relief be included in any legislation.