In an effort to protect patients and assure access to safe medical therapies, NPAF has joined the Alliance for a Stronger FDA; a national campaign to educate the public, media and policymakers on the need to increase the FDA's appropriations in order to ensure adequate funding for new public health initiatives.

In our continued effort to provide the patient's voice in improving access to, and reimbursement for, high-quality healthcare through regulatory and legislative reform, NPAF has recently joined the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease; a national coalition committed to raising awareness of policies and practices that save lives and reduce health costs through more effective prevention and management of chronic disease.

The Wall Street Journal recently addressed the drastic increases in expenditures for specialty-drugs over the last several years.  High priced medicines to treat cancer, multiple sclerosis and other rare diseases are prompting payers to focus more of their attention on reigning in spending for some of these costly therapies. 

In the first meta-analysis of widely used anemia drugs, clinical trial data confirms that the risk of death among cancer patients is increased by approximately 10 percent.  The lead author, Dr. Charles L. Bennett, a professor at Northwestern University, said the study shows a statistically significant increase in the risk of death from the drugs.