Lower Bucks Today

This week, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1), alongside U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (CT), John Barrasso (R-WY), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Mike Rounds (R-SD), as well as Representatives Susan Wild (D-PA), Lori Trahan (D-MA), and John Joyce (R-PA) introduced the Bolstering Research And Innovation Now (BRAIN) Act. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation aims to enhance research and treatment development for brain tumors and improve access to brain tumor healthcare.

“The Bolstering Research And Innovation Now Act marks a pivotal advancement in our battle against brain tumors and rare cancers,” said Rep. Fitzpatrick. “For far too long, patients and their families in my community and around the world have endured the harrowing effects of these devastating diseases with little hope for effective solutions and results. Our bipartisan initiative takes a critical step forward in revolutionizing research and treatment by accelerating innovation, enhancing collaboration, and elevating patient care through increased transparency, substantial funding, and comprehensive education. By paving the way for transformative discoveries, the BRAIN Act brings us closer to unlocking a cure and defeating cancer once and for all.”

“Malignant brain tumors remain a vicious and persistent enemy for many Americans—impacting more than one million people in the United States today,” said Senator Blumenthal. “With incidence and survival rates remaining stagnant for decades, our bipartisan, bicameral BRAIN Act is needed to advance research and treatment for these highly deadly cancers and defeat brain tumors once and for all.”

“I am proud to be the House lead of the BRAIN Act, which will enable our medical community to research groundbreaking treatments and innovative systems of care for the millions of Americans affected by brain tumors,” said Senator Wild. “American families — including my own — have been impacted by this terrible disease for far too long. I’ll never stop fighting for a cure, for the American children, adults, and seniors currently living with brain tumors, and to honor my mother, who I lost to brain cancer in 2014.”

“After losing my wife, Bobbi, to glioblastoma, I know firsthand how tragic a brain tumor diagnosis can be for patients and their families. Raising awareness and supporting efforts to find a cure is a personal priority for me,” said Senator Barrasso. “I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing this bipartisan, bicameral legislation to advance treatments and support research to find a cure for these deadly diagnoses.”

“A brain tumor diagnosis is devastating news for too many American families, and the federal government needs to step up to help find a cure as well as better diagnostics and treatment options," stated Senator Reed. "The BRAIN Act is about saving lives, changing lives, improving health outcomes by fast-tracking scientific discovery through improved access to clinical trials."

“For me, the fight against cancer is personal," added Congressman Rounds. "When my late wife Jean was courageously battling cancer a few years ago we were already seeing encouraging progress in new treatments' development."

“With more than a million Americans fighting brain tumors including many children we must use every tool at our disposal," emphasized Congresswoman Trahan.

“We need every advantage that we can obtain assisting those battling brain tumors," noted Congressman Joyce.

David Arons from the National Brain Tumor Society remarked: “The BRAIN Act represents first-of-its-kind legislation addressing unique challenges facing patients with rare deadly cancers."

Nicholas Blondin MD from Yale School of Medicine highlighted: "In my 12-year career as neuro-oncologist I've seen firsthand devastation caused by malignant brain tumors."

Today over one million people in America live with primary brain tumors while another 94 thousand will likely be diagnosed within 2024 plus hundreds of thousands more metastatic cases despite major improvements made treating other cancers incidence survival rates remained stagnant past forty-five years five-year relative survival rate only thirty-five point seven percent.

To reduce mortality rates make meaningful progress better-funded collaborative research needed; BRAIN Act proposes comprehensive complementary approach meeting need advancing aggressive hard-to-treat cancers specifically:

1) Increases transparency federally-funded biobank collections enabling researchers share samples.

2) Sufficiently resources National Cancer Institute’s Glioblastoma Therapeutics Network vetting treatments completing early-phase clinical trials.

3) Enables team science advancing immunotherapy CAR-T engineered attacking cancer cells.

4) Directs CDC public education campaign importance clinical trials biomarker testing.

5) Augments expands funding developing innovative care models survivors.

6) Directs FDA guidance ensuring access evaluating treatments other diseases.

Bill text available here section-by-section summary here one-page summary here.