NIH Proposes New Therapeutic Development Center

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking input from the public on the proposed creation of a new center that would support translational science and consolidate several existing translational research programs. The National Center for Advancing Translations Sciences (NCATS) would support the development of therapeutics and clinical care from basic research discoveries.

In May, a working group on translational medicine and therapeutics began identifying current NIH programs related to therapeutics development and creating a plan to better integrate their efforts.  NCATS would establish and provide focused, integrated and systematic approaches to link basic discovery research to therapeutics development and clinical care. The idea has proven popular with the pharmaceutical industry.  The focus would likely be on rare diseases, engaging in high-risk research to develop therapies in areas where for-profit companies are hesitant to make the long-term investments. NIH intends for the center to produce a steady pipeline of products and techniques to diagnose, treat and prevent a wide range of conditions.

For more information or to offer input, click here.