Schumer Pushes Plan to Create Fed Task Force to Identify Top Research to Cure Breast Cancer and Funnel Federal Dollars to Sites Like UAlbany

Press Release

Today, at the RNA Institute at the University at Albany, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced his sponsorship of legislation that would funnel federal research dollars to top breast cancer research centers like the UAlbany facility. The RNA Institute at the University at Albany, working closely with the Cancer Research Center at the University's School of Public Health, has the potential to create major breakthroughs in breast cancer, and is the leading research center dedicated to RNA technology development, therapeutics and diagnostics in the world. Schumer's legislation, which he is sponsoring with a group of colleagues, would create a Commission to Accelerate the End of Breast Cancer that would seek to make major advancements towards a cure for breast cancer within the next decade by identifying promising and underdeveloped research technologies and delivering federal seed funding to promote their growth.

Schumer highlighted that this ground-breaking new facility at UAlbany makes New York a national leader in RNA Science, technology development, drug discovery, and diagnostics for the most difficult, and drug resistant diseases. Schumer noted that just as the research on DNA led to an untold number of discoveries, new products, and medicines, RNA research has the potential to revolutionize biomedical science and cancer research. In addition to his plan to create a federal task force, Schumer vowed to bring top federal agency officials to the site to help unlock other opportunities for federal investment and partnership.

"The RNA Institute and Cancer Research Center at UAlbany present remarkable opportunities for breakthroughs in breast cancer research, as well as drug diagnostics and treatment for other diseases. I am proud that the nation's only RNA research center will be right here in the Capital Region at UAlbany, and I will fight to connect this one-of-kind center with federal research dollars to spur discovery and innovation in breast cancer treatment. That's why I am pushing legislation that will create a federal task force to identify the most promising research in the country, like that going on at facilities like the UAlbany RNA Institute and Cancer Research Center, and get seed funding to those initiatives to help find a cure for breast cancer and other deadly diseases."

Schumer continued, "RNA research, like DNA research, has the potential to unlock an untold number of new technologies, products, and medicines--I am excited to watch the next step of scientific discovery take place here in the Capital Region, and look forward to bringing federal officials to this new facility at UAlbany to unlock additional opportunities."

"The University at Albany lauds Senator Schumer for recognizing the importance of federal funding to advance RNA research to help cure breast cancer and other challenging diseases," said Robert Jones, president, University at Albany. "Federal research dollars are critical to growing the success of such research enterprises. In only three years, UAlbany leveraged a $5.4 million NIH grant into more than $15 million of federal support to advance biomedical research and attract world-class scientists to The RNA Institute."

Schumer was joined by University at Albany President Robert Jones, the Director of the RNA Institute Paul Agris, Director of UAlbany Cancer Research Center Martin Tenniswood, Albany County Executive Dan McCoy, New York State Assemblymember Patricia Fahy, and representatives from To Life!, a breast cancer education and support organization.

Schumer highlighted that the Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act of 2013, sponsored by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, would aim to ensure that our nation's limited research dollars are leveraged to accelerate progress in the study and treatment of breast cancer. The bill would create a federal commission, comprised of researchers and advocates, that would identify promising and underdeveloped areas of breast cancer research from across the country, at sites like UAlbany, and oversee the disbursement of $20 million in seed funds to worthy initiatives in the field. The Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act leverages past investments and focuses on identifying strategies for primary prevention, stopping women from getting breast cancer, and understanding and preventing metastasis (the spread of cancer), which is responsible for 90 percent of breast cancer deaths. The panel would report its findings on an annual basis to Congress, the White House and the public.

This commission would seek to harness the nation's continued drive for innovation, and help ensure our position as the worldwide leader in medical and scientific advancement. Building on decades of investment and achievement in these areas, plus new underutilized areas of research, like RNA research, Schumer argued that we have the potential to significantly cut back on breast cancer deaths and learn how to prevent the disease within the next decade.

In the United States, 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, up from 1 in 11 in 1975. Nationwide, health care costs associated with breast cancer totaled $16.5 billion in 2010 and resulted in $12.1 billion in lost productivity, according to an estimate by the National Cancer Institute.

In 2011, Schumer helped secure a $5.4 million federal grant from the National Institutes of Health for the RNA Institute. The Institute was then able to leverage an additional $10 million in public and private research funding. Schumer noted that with a proven public-private partnership like the RNA Institute, a small investment can go a long way.

RNA, or ribonucleic acid, is a only product of DNA which turns genes in the body "on" and "off" and is believed to hold great potential in the study of the underlying causes of disease, as well as in treatment of such illnesses as drug-resistant bacterial infections. The study of RNA is still a relatively new field, but has the potential to be as fruitful as the study of DNA. In the last 6 years alone, 8 Nobel Prizes in science have been awarded for RNA research.

The RNA Institute, comprising more than 50 principal corporate, government, and university research entities that employ more than 350 staff members in New York's Capital Region alone, serves as a sustainable resource for the research and discovery of medical interventions and diagnostics aimed at treating a range of human and hard-to-treat diseases -- from breast cancer to drug-resistant bacterial and viral infections, drug-resistant TB and HIV, depression, and neurodegenerative and neuromuscular disorders such as ALS and neurofibromatosis. In conjunction with scientific discovery and research, The RNA Institute will offer resources for small, medium and large biomedical businesses to spur the development of start-up companies, new R&D centers, and related business operations in New York State through public-private partnerships. In collaboration with the University's School of Business, The RNA Institute will offer researchers tools and strategies to assess the marketplace and successfully develop and commercialize intellectual property in the Capital Region.

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