U.S. Should Improve Hospital Preparedness For Ebola, Create PPPs To Spur Treatment, Vaccine Development

Roll Call: Fighting Ebola Requires Better Planning
Sens. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio)

“…[W]hile it is clear the U.S. health care system ultimately rose to the challenge of caring for multiple Ebola patients, the grave mistakes made in Texas should serve as a wake-up call. We must ensure our health care system is better prepared to diagnose, treat, and prevent the spread of Ebola and other diseases, which is why we are proposing specific legislation to advance this vital goal. … Together, we have crafted a bipartisan proposal to allocate funds to support the establishment of regional designated hospitals that can provide a higher level of specialized care for Ebola patients in an isolated setting. … The creation of these designated Ebola treatment centers is a critical component of our nation’s preparedness in battling Ebola and other infectious diseases and will help protect the safety of health care workers, our communities, and future patients” (11/19).

USA TODAY: How to upgrade Ebola fight
Andrew von Eschenbach, chair of the Manhattan Institute’s Project FDA, and Paul Howard, director of the institute’s Center for Medical Progress

“…Congress should authorize a public-private partnership (PPP) designed specifically to mutually fund and develop the most promising drugs and medicines to combat outbreaks like Ebola and bioterrorism. … The FDA has made great strides over the past 10 years to become a facilitator of medical product development, but much more can be done, and the partnership would be a great place for FDA to experiment with innovative new approaches like ‘adaptive licensing’ and technologies such as early biomarker qualification that would rapidly accelerate access to life-saving innovative therapies. The net effect of a nimble partnership is that we could afford to invest in more products and technologies with a much greater likelihood of success, protecting us from biologic threats while also developing better standards for drug development that could benefit patients everywhere…” (11/19).

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