Pallone Lauds Subcommittee Passage of 21st Century Cures
Bill Would Help Rutgers and NJIT Continue to Revolutionize Drug Manufacturing
WASHINGTON, DC – The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health today approved the 21st Century Cures Act, sending it to the full committee. Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Ranking Member of the committee, has been a leader on the legislation, which would facilitate the advancement of cutting edge science and foster more efficient discovery, development and delivery of new treatments. Specifically, among other provisions, it would allow the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to award $5 million in grants to research institutions to study the process of continuous drug manufacturing. Continuous manufacturing, which would replace the outdated “batch manufacturing” process, will benefit patients and pharmaceutical companies by increasing quality and efficiency, leading to higher quality and lower cost prescription drugs. Rutgers University is already a leader in this field. A partnership among Rutgers and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the Engineering Research Center for Structured Organic Particulate Systems (C-SOPS) tests the innovative process in its two-story, state-of-the-art continuous manufacturing lab in Piscataway.
“21st Century Cures will help New Jersey’s research institutions and pharmaceutical companies to continue revolutionizing the way we manufacture prescription drugs,” said Congressman Pallone. “Rutgers and NJIT, right here in New Jersey, can be international leaders in reducing the cost and increasing the quality of medicine. I am pleased that the subcommittee approved of the bill, and I will continue my efforts to ensure New Jersey’s leaders in the field benefit from the legislation as it comes through the full committee.”
Last week, the FDA visited Rutgers for an industry and academic workshop on the future of pharmaceutical manufacturing. The keynote speaker was Dr. Janet Woodcock, the FDA’s Director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and Acting Director for the Office of Pharmaceutical Quality.