Ask your Senator to "Put a Hold"
on U.S. Senate Bill 959
Senate Bill 959 is the most anti-patient bill headed for passage since 2010. Sponsored by Sen. Harkin, it has passed out of the Senate HELP Committee and is headed for a vote on the Senate floor.
CLICK HERE http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfmto find your Senator's contact information. Then ask your Senator to "put a hold" on S. 959, the so-called "Pharmaceutical Compounding Quality and Accountability Act."
S.959 vastly expands the power of the FDA, and will enable the FDA to shut down nearly all adult stem cell treatments. As many in the pro-life movement realize, the FDA already prohibits and prevents many adult stem cell treatments. The FDA obtained a ruling in federal court in D.C. against the use of adult stem cells by Regenerative Sciences. But FDA jurisdiction still has limits, which have enabled some breakthroughs with adult stem cells.
S.959 would vastly expanding FDA authority over nearly all biological products, except for "human blood and blood components for transfusion." (end of Section 2(b), p. 4 of S.959) Adult stem cells will not fit into this exemption, which means that the FDA will obtain jurisdiction to shut down adult stem cell treatments if this bill passes.
There is an additional anti-life consequence of this bad bill. A significant percentage of pregnancies are prone to premature birth, which often results in deaths of the unborn children or severe birth defects. A medication exists to help prevent these premature births: 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone ("17P"), which is a synthetic form of the female hormone progesterone. Compounding pharmacies currently provide this medication at an affordable cost to thousands of pregnant women who are prone to premature delivery.
But S.959 has a provision that prohibits compounding pharmacies from copying any FDA-approved medication. Only one drug manufacturer produces this (non-patented) drug, at an astronomical cost of $1500 per injection per week totaling $30,000 per pregnancy. Compounding pharmacies provide this same medication for $15-$20 per injection per week, totaling only $300-$400 per pregnancy.
S.959 eliminates competition by compounding pharmacies to big pharmaceutical manufacturers, and in this instance it will harm unborn children severely. Few will be able to afford the many thousands of dollars that the sole manufacturer of this medication charges.
S.959 is being railroaded through the U.S. Senate on the pretext that it addresses a meningitis outbreak that was caused by contaminated steroid injections made by New England Compounding Center late last year. Epitomizing the concept of "never let a crisis go to waste," enemies of life have exploited that crisis to insert harmful provisions into S.959.
If S.959 passes, then most adult stem cell treatments will cease, and pregnant women will lose affordable access to medication that prevents devastating premature births. Please distribute this email widely, and feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.
http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=30a32513ae04f5445c95f3239&id=ff31164fbf
on U.S. Senate Bill 959
Senate Bill 959 is the most anti-patient bill headed for passage since 2010. Sponsored by Sen. Harkin, it has passed out of the Senate HELP Committee and is headed for a vote on the Senate floor.
CLICK HERE http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfmto find your Senator's contact information. Then ask your Senator to "put a hold" on S. 959, the so-called "Pharmaceutical Compounding Quality and Accountability Act."
S.959 vastly expands the power of the FDA, and will enable the FDA to shut down nearly all adult stem cell treatments. As many in the pro-life movement realize, the FDA already prohibits and prevents many adult stem cell treatments. The FDA obtained a ruling in federal court in D.C. against the use of adult stem cells by Regenerative Sciences. But FDA jurisdiction still has limits, which have enabled some breakthroughs with adult stem cells.
S.959 would vastly expanding FDA authority over nearly all biological products, except for "human blood and blood components for transfusion." (end of Section 2(b), p. 4 of S.959) Adult stem cells will not fit into this exemption, which means that the FDA will obtain jurisdiction to shut down adult stem cell treatments if this bill passes.
There is an additional anti-life consequence of this bad bill. A significant percentage of pregnancies are prone to premature birth, which often results in deaths of the unborn children or severe birth defects. A medication exists to help prevent these premature births: 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone ("17P"), which is a synthetic form of the female hormone progesterone. Compounding pharmacies currently provide this medication at an affordable cost to thousands of pregnant women who are prone to premature delivery.
But S.959 has a provision that prohibits compounding pharmacies from copying any FDA-approved medication. Only one drug manufacturer produces this (non-patented) drug, at an astronomical cost of $1500 per injection per week totaling $30,000 per pregnancy. Compounding pharmacies provide this same medication for $15-$20 per injection per week, totaling only $300-$400 per pregnancy.
S.959 eliminates competition by compounding pharmacies to big pharmaceutical manufacturers, and in this instance it will harm unborn children severely. Few will be able to afford the many thousands of dollars that the sole manufacturer of this medication charges.
S.959 is being railroaded through the U.S. Senate on the pretext that it addresses a meningitis outbreak that was caused by contaminated steroid injections made by New England Compounding Center late last year. Epitomizing the concept of "never let a crisis go to waste," enemies of life have exploited that crisis to insert harmful provisions into S.959.
If S.959 passes, then most adult stem cell treatments will cease, and pregnant women will lose affordable access to medication that prevents devastating premature births. Please distribute this email widely, and feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.
http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=30a32513ae04f5445c95f3239&id=ff31164fbf