THE LATEST 'HEAD'LINES

May 14, 2012

Act Now to Create Hope for Kids with Cancer

Your help is urgently needed to encourage a Senate Committee to include the Creating Hope Act as part of a larger Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bill.



Please take 5 minutes today (on Monday or Tuesday) to call the leaders of the Senate HELP Committee -- Senator Harkin (D-IA) and Senator Enzi (R-WY) -- and tell them why the Creating Hope Act is important to kids with cancer. After you make your calls, please ask your family, friends and colleague to do the same by sharing this action alert on email, Twitter and Facebook.

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How to Contact the Congressional Offices



Chairman Harkin (D-IA): 202-224-3254

(Please let them know if you live in Iowa)



Ranking Member Enzi (R-WY): (202) 224-3424

Toll-Free (888) 250-1879

(Please let them know if you live in Wyoming)

• Please speak with the staff member who answers the phone, using the talking points below.


• If no one answers, please leave a voicemail.


• Please be respectful to the staff member, but express your urgent concern about this bill.

Talking Points (please choose the ones that apply to you):



You are the parent or family member of a child with cancer

• I am the parent/or family member of a child with cancer.


• I am calling because I'm concerned that the Senate FDA bill does not include the Creating Hope Act, legislation to promote drug development for pediatric cancers and other pediatric diseases.


• Please make sure the Creating Hope Act is included in the final version of the FDA bill.


• My child/the child in my family with cancer is a childhood cancer survivor/in treatment for a pediatric cancer/is deceased.


• Thank you.

Because you care about kids with cancer

• I care about kids with cancer.


• I am calling you because I'm concerned that the Senate FDA bill does not include the Creating Hope Act, legislation to promote drug development for pediatric cancers and other pediatric diseases.


• Please make sure the Creating Hope Act is included in the final version of the FDA bill. It will help childhood cancer survivors and kids in treatment.


• Thank you.

You are a physician/researcher/healthcare professional

• I am a physician/researcher/healthcare professional working to treat pediatric cancers/rare diseases.


• I’m calling because I'm concerned that the Senate has not yet included the Creating Hope Act in the FDA bill.


• The Creating Hope Act provides market incentives for new drug development for pediatric cancers and other rare pediatric diseases.


• Please include the language from the House FDA bill's Creating Hope Act in the Senate FDA bill.

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About the Creating Hope Act



The Creating Hope Act is bipartisan legislation (supported by Democrats and Republicans) that would encourage the creation of new drugs for pediatric cancer and other "rare" diseases by providing market incentives (in the form of a priority review voucher) to pharmaceutical companies that develop the drugs.



On September 23, 2011 Representatives Michael McCaul, G.K. Butterfield, Sue Myrick, and Chris Van Hollen introduced the Creating Hope Act (H.R. 3059) into the House. It was introduced into the Senate on March 17, 2011 by Senators Robert Casey, Scott Brown, Sherrod Brown, Al Franken, and John Isakson (S. 606). The Creating Hope Act currently has 168 cosponsors in the House.



On May 9, 2012, the Creating Hope Act received support in the House version of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Reform Act of 2012. The bill now needs similar support in the Senate.