I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 745 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a Pancreatic Cancer 

Initiative, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 28, 2009 

Ms. ESHOO (for herself, Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida, Mrs. CAPPS, 

Mr. CUMMINGS, and Mr. PLATTS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for 

a Pancreatic Cancer Initiative, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act’’. 

6 (b) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) Nearly 38,000 Americans will be diagnosed 

8 with pancreatic cancer this year, and over 34,000 

9 will die from the disease. The incidence among AfriVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:19 Jan 30, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H745.IH H745

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1 can-Americans is 40 to 50 percent higher than other 

2 ethnic groups. 

3 (2) Pancreatic cancer is one of the few cancers 

4 for which survival has not improved substantially 

5 over the past 30 years. As a result, in 2003, pan6 creatic cancer surpassed prostate cancer as the 4th 

7 leading cause of cancer-related death in the United 

8 States. 

9 (3) Seventy-five percent of pancreatic cancer 

10 patients die within the first 12 months of the diag11 nosis. The 5-year survival rate is 5 percent. 

12 (4) Scientific understanding of pancreatic can13 cer—its etiology, pathogenesis, detection, and treat14 ment—lags far behind that of most other forms of 

15 cancer. In fact, pancreatic cancer research is where 

16 breast cancer research was in the 1930s—little un17 derstanding of the causes, no early detection, few ef18 fective treatments, and single-digit survival rates. 

19 (5) In 2001, the National Cancer Institute de20 veloped ‘‘Pancreatic Cancer: An Agenda for Action’’. 

21 Seven years later, only five of the report’s 39 rec22 ommendations have been implemented because of a 

23 lack of funding, focus, and commitment. In the 

24 meantime, pancreatic cancer death rates have con25 tinued to increase. 


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1 (6) Pancreatic cancer research constitutes less 

2 than 2 percent of the National Cancer Institute’s 

3 Federal research funding, a figure far too low given 

4 the severity of the disease, its mortality rate, and 

5 how little is known about how to arrest the disease. 

6 (7) Of the more than 5,000 research grants 

7 awarded annually by the Nations Cancer Institute in 

8 2006, only 134 (approximately 3 percent) were cat9 egorized by the Institute as at least 50 percent rel10 evant to pancreatic cancer research. 

11 (8) The future supply of scientists entering this 

12 field of study is in serious jeopardy. There are cur13 rently fewer than 58 principal investigators who 

14 have multiple grants or a primary career focus on 

15 pancreatic cancer. Further, in the last 3 years, the 

16 National Cancer Institute has awarded only 5 grants 

17 for training and supporting young principal inves18 tigators in pancreatic cancer. 

19 (9) In 2007, the Scientific Advisory Board of 

20 the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network reviewed the 

21 current state of the science and the Federal Govern22 ment’s efforts on pancreatic cancer research and 

23 prepared ‘‘The National Plan to Advance Pancreatic 

24 Cancer Research’’ to identify the highest research 

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1 force training requirements that are needed to pro2 vide the answers that pancreatic cancer patients and 

3 their families and loved ones so desperately need. 

4 SEC. 2. PANCREATIC CANCER INITIATIVE. 

5 Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 320B. PANCREATIC CANCER INITIATIVE. 

9 ‘‘(a) PANCREATIC CANCER INITIATIVE.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es11 tablish and implement a Pancreatic Cancer Initiative 

12 to assist in coordinating activities to address the 

13 high mortality rate associated with pancreatic can14 cer. Such Initiative shall focus on— 

15 ‘‘(A) advancing research on the causes, di16 agnosis, and treatment of pancreatic cancer 

17 with the goal of increasing the 5-year survival 

18 rate; 

19 ‘‘(B) promoting a cadre of new investiga20 tors in the field of pancreatic cancer research; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(C) increasing physician and public 

23 awareness of pancreatic cancer. 

24 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this sub25 section, the Secretary shall consult with the Director 


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1 of the National Institutes of Health, the Director of 

2 the National Cancer Institute, the Director of the 

3 Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, and the 

4 Interdisciplinary Pancreatic Cancer Coordinating 

5 Committee established under subsection (b). 

6 ‘‘(b) INTERDISCIPLINARY PANCREATIC CANCER CO7 ORDINATING COMMITTEE.— 

8 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 60 days 

9 after the date of the enactment of this section, the 

10 Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the 

11 National Institutes of Health, shall establish a com12 mittee to be known as the Interdisciplinary Pan13 creatic Cancer Coordinating Committee (in this sub14 section referred to as the ‘Committee’). 

15 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The members of the 

17 Committee shall be appointed by the Secretary, 

18 in consultation with the Director of the Na19 tional Institutes of Health, and shall consist of 

20 13 individuals as follows: 

21 ‘‘(i) Nine experts in pancreatic cancer 

22 research, who are each a full professor at 

23 a major academic research institution and 

24 who have each received multiple grants 

25 from the National Cancer Institute or 


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1 other entities of the National Institutes of 

2 Health with a primary focus on pancreatic 

3 cancer research. 

4 ‘‘(ii) Two young principal investiga5 tors in pancreatic cancer, who are each an 

6 assistant-level professor in a major aca7 demic research institution and who have 

8 each received at least one grant from the 

9 National Cancer Institute or another entity 

10 of the National Institutes of Health with a 

11 primary focus in pancreatic cancer re12 search. 

13 ‘‘(iii) One pancreatic cancer advocate. 

14 ‘‘(iv) The Director of the National 

15 Cancer Institute (or the Director’s des16 ignee). 

17 ‘‘(B) CHAIR.—The Secretary shall des18 ignate the Chair of the Committee from among 

19 its members. 

20 ‘‘(C) PUBLICATION OF NAMES.—Not later 

21 than 30 days after the establishment of the 

22 Committee, the Secretary shall publish the 

23 names of the Chair and members of the Com24 mittee on the Website of the Department of 

25 Health and Human Services. 


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1 ‘‘(D) TERMS.—The members of the Com2 mittee shall each be appointed for a 3-year term 

3 and, at the end of each such term, may be re4 appointed. 

5 ‘‘(E) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Com6 mittee shall be filled by the Secretary in the 

7 same manner in which the original appointment 

8 was made. 

9 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Committee 

10 shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) provide advice on overall research ob12 jectives and benchmarks for pancreatic cancer 

13 research; 

14 ‘‘(B) develop and annually update a stra15 tegic plan in accordance with paragraph (4) for 

16 the conduct and support of pancreatic cancer 

17 research awareness during the upcoming year; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(C) conduct evaluations and make rec20 ommendations to the Secretary, the Director of 

21 the National Institutes of Health, and the Di22 rector of the National Cancer Institute in ac23 cordance with paragraph (5) regarding the 

24 prioritization and award of National Institutes 


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1 of Health research grants relating to pancreatic 

2 cancer. 

3 ‘‘(4) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 

4 ‘‘(A) DEVELOPMENT.—The Committee 

5 shall develop and annually update a strategic 

6 plan for the conduct and support of pancreatic 

7 cancer research and awareness during the up8 coming fiscal year. 

9 ‘‘(B) SUBMISSION.—The Committee 

10 shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) submit to the Secretary each stra12 tegic plan developed under subparagraph 

13 (A) for the upcoming fiscal year; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) publish each such plan on the 

15 Website of the Department of Health and 

16 Human Services within 30 days after the 

17 earlier of— 

18 ‘‘(I) the date of submission of the 

19 plan to the Secretary under clause (i); 

20 or 

21 ‘‘(II) June 1. 

22 ‘‘(C) CONTENTS.—Each strategic plan de23 veloped under subparagraph (A) shall include— 

24 ‘‘(i) recommended budgetary require25 ments for pancreatic cancer research, inVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:19 Jan 30, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H745.IH H745

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1 cluding research grants awarded through 

2 the National Cancer Institute, funding for 

3 Specialized Programs of Research Excel4 lence (SPORE) that are focused on pan5 creatic cancer, and funding for the portion 

6 of the cancer research incubator pilot 

7 project established by section 409J(a) that 

8 is focused on pancreatic cancer; 

9 ‘‘(ii) recommendations on the coordi10 nation of extramural and intramural pan11 creatic cancer research initiatives and pos12 sibilities for partnerships among the na13 tional research institutes, including the 

14 National Cancer Institute, the National In15 stitute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kid16 ney Diseases, the National Institute of En17 vironmental Health Sciences, the National 

18 Center for Complementary and Alternative 

19 Medicine, and the National Center on Mi20 nority Health and Health Disparities; 

21 ‘‘(iii) recommendations for improving 

22 physician and public education about pan23 creatic cancer; 

24 ‘‘(iv) recommendations for increasing 

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1 grees and clinician-scientists specializing in 

2 pancreatic cancer research; and 

3 ‘‘(v) guidelines for information gath4 ered by pancreatic cancer patient registries 

5 and tissue banks to ensure uniformity and 

6 accessibility to the research community. 

7 ‘‘(5) PRIORITIZATION AND AWARD OF NIH RE8 SEARCH GRANTS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

10 conduct evaluations and make recommendations 

11 to the Secretary, the Director of the National 

12 Institutes of Health, and the Director of the 

13 National Cancer Institute regarding the 

14 prioritization and award of National Institutes 

15 of Health research grants relating to pancreatic 

16 cancer. 

17 ‘‘(B) PEER REVIEW COMMITTEE.—In car18 rying out subparagraph (A), the Committee 

19 may appoint a peer review committee to assist 

20 in the evaluation of pancreatic cancer grant ap21 plications to ensure that such applications are 

22 reviewed by individuals with the appropriate ex23 pertise. 

24 ‘‘(C) EVALUATION.—In evaluating pan25 creatic cancer grant applications under subVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:19 Jan 30, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H745.IH H745

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1 paragraph (A), the Committee shall emphasize 

2 grants that achieve at least one of the following 

3 goals: 

4 ‘‘(i) The grant is determined to be at 

5 least 75 percent relevant to pancreatic can6 cer research and has a primary focus on at 

7 least one of the following areas: 

8 ‘‘(I) Basic research to advance 

9 the understanding of the biology of 

10 pancreatic cancer, its natural history, 

11 and the genetic and environmental 

12 factors that contribute to its develop13 ment. 

14 ‘‘(II) Research on more precise 

15 diagnostic methods and screening to 

16 detect pancreatic cancer in earlier 

17 stages. 

18 ‘‘(III) Advanced innovative clin19 ical trials testing targeted thera20 peutics and novel agents that will ex21 tend the survival of pancreatic cancer 

22 patients and improve their quality of 

23 life. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The grant will increase the num2 ber of young pancreatic cancer investiga3 tors. 

4 ‘‘(iii) The grant will meet identified 

5 needs, criteria, or specific research goals 

6 set forth in the strategic plan developed 

7 under paragraph (3)(B). 

8 ‘‘(D) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Com9 mittee shall make recommendations for excep10 tion funding for grant applications that— 

11 ‘‘(i) have 75 percent or greater rel12 evance to pancreatic cancer; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) score within 10 points of the 

14 payline. 

15 ‘‘(c) PHYSICIAN AWARENESS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM.—The Secretary, in consultation 

17 with the Director of the National Institutes of 

18 Health, the Director of the Centers for Disease Con19 trol and Prevention, and relevant patient advocate 

20 and physician organizations, shall develop a primary 

21 care provider education program on pancreatic can22 cer. The Secretary may include in such program ac23 credited continuing medical education and such 

24 other activities as the Secretary determines appro25 priate. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—The term ‘relevant patient 

2 advocate and physician organization’ means a na3 tionwide organization that— 

4 ‘‘(A) provides evidence-based disease infor5 mation to the public in a case management 

6 style; 

7 ‘‘(B) directly funds research in an unbi8 ased manner by working collaboratively with 

9 health professionals at a variety of institutions 

10 and using a peer-reviewed grant mechanism; 

11 ‘‘(C) advocates public policy outcomes that 

12 reflect the needs of patients; and 

13 ‘‘(D) provides information to patients, 

14 families, and health professionals at the com15 munity level. 

16 ‘‘(d) COMMUNICATION TOOL KIT.—The Director of 

17 the National Institutes of Health and the Director of the 

18 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, working col19 laboratively with patient advocate organizations, shall de20 velop a communication tool kit for patients and their fami21 lies that focuses on specific pancreatic cancer issues re22 lated to patient choices and patient care. 

23 ‘‘(e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

24 after the date of the enactment of this section, and annu25 ally thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report to the 


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1 Congress identifying the steps taken to implement the 

2 Pancreatic Cancer Initiative under subsection (a). The re3 port shall include— 

4 ‘‘(1) an assessment of the progress in improv5 ing outcomes and reducing mortality rates for those 

6 diagnosed with pancreatic cancer; 

7 ‘‘(2) an explanation of how recommendations of 

8 the Interdisciplinary Pancreatic Cancer Coordinating 

9 Committee in the strategic plan developed under 

10 subsection (b)(3)(B) for the preceding year have 

11 been implemented; 

12 ‘‘(3) a summary of the recommendations that 

13 were made by the Interdisciplinary Pancreatic Can14 cer Coordinating Committee for grant funding, in15 cluding exception funding, the number of such rec16 ommendations that were met, and the reasons why 

17 any recommendations were not met; 

18 ‘‘(4) a breakdown of research grant award 

19 amounts by the National Institutes of Health during 

20 the past year that are deemed relevant to pancreatic 

21 cancer research along with a quantifiable measure as 

22 to the relevancy of the grants to pancreatic cancer; 

23 ‘‘(5) the number of such grants awarded to 

24 young principal investigators in pancreatic cancer 

25 described in subsection (b)(2)(A)(ii); and 


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1 ‘‘(6) a summary of progress and deficiencies 

2 that were made in pancreatic cancer research during 

3 the preceding year. 

4 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated— 

6 ‘‘(1) to carry out subsection (a), $140,000,000 

7 for fiscal year 2010 and such sums as may be nec8 essary for fiscal years 2011 through 2014; 

9 ‘‘(2) to carry out subsection (c), $2,000,000 for 

10 fiscal year 2010 and such sums as may be necessary 

11 for fiscal years 2011 through 2014; and 

12 ‘‘(3) to carry out subsection (d), $2,000,000 for 

13 fiscal year 2010 and such sums as may be necessary 

14 for fiscal years 2011 through 2014.’’. 

15 SEC. 3. NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH RESEARCH. 

16 Part B of title IV of the Public Health Service Act 

17 (42 U.S.C. 284 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 409J. CANCER RESEARCH. 

20 ‘‘(a) CANCER RESEARCH INCUBATOR PILOT

21 PROJECT.— 

22 ‘‘(1) GRANTS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

24 award grants to research institutions for use in 

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1 nologies for the prevention, early detection, or 

2 treatment of those cancers with 5-year survival 

3 rates of less than 50 percent. 

4 ‘‘(B) RELATION TO OTHER NIH GRANTS.— 

5 Subject to subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

6 shall encourage each recipient of a grant under 

7 this section to use the grant for research activi8 ties that may serve as a springboard for the re9 ceipt of other grants, including Specialized Pro10 grams of Research Excellence (SPORE) grants, 

11 from the National Institutes of Health and its 

12 national research institutes. 

13 ‘‘(2) GRANT PERIOD.—The period of a grant 

14 under this section shall be 5 years. 

15 ‘‘(3) FOCUS.—During the initial 5 fiscal years 

16 of carrying out this section, the Secretary shall focus 

17 on awarding grants for use in developing innovative 

18 compounds or technologies for the prevention, early 

19 detection, or treatment of pancreatic cancer. 

20 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the 

21 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 

22 shall submit a report to the Congress evaluating the 

23 program under this section and making rec24 ommendations for expansion of the program to other 

25 cancers. 


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1 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 To carry out this subsection, there are authorized to 

3 be appropriated $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and 

4 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2011 

5 through 2014. 

6 ‘‘(b) CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary may des8 ignate two additional Specialized Programs of Re9 search Excellence (SPOREs) focusing solely on pan10 creatic cancer research. In carrying out this para11 graph, the Secretary may choose to designate one or 

12 more satellite centers that augment the work of a 

13 previously designated Specialized Program of Re14 search Excellence. 

15 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

16 To carry out this subsection, there are authorized to 

17 be appropriated $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 

18 and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 

19 2011 through 2014.’’. 

Æ 


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