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Alliance Commends NIH for New Medical Research Plan

Published October 2, 2003

October 2nd 2003, Washington, D.C. – The not-for-profit Alliance for Aging Research today praised the new national Institutes of Health plan that seeks to foster a scientific structure conducive to accelerating the rate of medical discoveries. NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni presented the NIH “Roadmap” as a means to improve the research establishment in this nation.

“Dr. Zerhouni should be commended on his leadership in undertaking the task of developing the Roadmap, and doing so in an open and thoughtful way,” said Daniel Perry, executive director of the Alliance for Aging Research. “This consensus document among the NIH leadership truly begins to reformulate a more efficient research infrastructure that has the potential to hasten better treatments and cures.”

However, the Alliance warns that although this is a step in the right direction, there are concerns and possible barriers to the success of the Roadmap. Political restrictions, especially in the area of regenerative medicine, and the rollercoaster NIH funding reflected in the fiscal year 2004 budget, may undermine the implementation of the Roadmap and the continued success of U.S. biomedical research.

“The Roadmap is just one piece of the changes that are necessary to protect and preserve both public and private research in this nation,” said Perry. “With the Boomer tsunami about to hit the US, it is critical that we create a funding and political atmosphere conducive to scientific discoveries that will yield a healthier and vital American society.”

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Founded in 1986, the Alliance for Aging Research is a nonprofit, independent organization dedicated to supporting and accelerating the pace of medical discoveries to vastly improve the universal human experience of aging. The Alliance combines the interests of top scientists, public officials, business executives and foundation and academic leaders to promote a greater national investment in research and new technologies that will prepare our nation for the coming senior boom, and improve the quality of life for older Americans.

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