The Creating Hope Act of 2011 was introduced in the US Senate on March 17 by Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr (D-PA). Spearheaded by like-minded organization Kids v Cancer, the Creating Hope Act intends to focus some of the brightest scientific minds on creating new and improved drugs for pediatric cancer and other rare childhood diseases. The act does not require appropriation and influences research and development through an incentive system for pharmaceutical companies.

In short, when a pharmaceutical company develops an FDA-approved drug for a rare pediatric disease, including childhood cancer, that company will receive an incentive. The incentive is a voucher for FDA fast-track approval of a second, unrelated drug. This pass to the front of the line is extremely valuable to the companies, and is modeled after a successful research and development system enacted to help a similar group of “orphaned” patients: those suffering from rare tropical diseases.

Only ONE new drug to fight childhood cancer has been developed in the last 20 years! Our kids deserve better than smaller doses of drugs meant to treat adult cancer patients. Please help us support this legislation by contacting your senator and representatives and asking them to vote YES on the Creating Hope Act.

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