The following statement was issued by Peter L. Saltonstall, President and CEO of the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), on yesterday’s approval of the Ensuring Access to Clinical Trials Act (S. 139) in the United States House of Representatives.
The House of Representatives echoed the U.S. Senate and showed its commitment to 1 in 10 Americans and their families by passing the Ensuring Access to Clinical Trials Act (S.139). By passing S. 139, the House voted to remove income-related barriers to participation in clinical trials and toward developing much-needed treatments for the 7,000 known rare diseases, only a few hundred of which currently have FDA-approved treatments.
Today, 30 million people and their families have added hope that their tremendous unmet medical needs are one step closer to being addressed. Studying one rare disease can often lead to understanding of other rare diseases, as well as understanding of more common diseases.
As the Ensuring Access to Clinical Trials Act moves to the President’s desk, we close in on eliminating the challenges of rare diseases and to stopping them from altering and ending the lives of too many Americans much too soon. NORD is proud to have supported this bill and to have advocated for its passage with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy Association, and many others in the rare disease community.
Peter L. Saltonstall
President and CEO, National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)
Read more about the Ensuring Access to Clinical Trials Act here.
