Panel, Other
Lunch Panel: A Cure for What Ails Us: Celebrating the Impact of Science (updated II)
Milken InstituteNancy Brown, Francis Collins, Thomas Frieden, Andrew von Eschenbach, Michael Milken, Mike Milken, Tom Frieden, Andy Van Eschenbach, Jack Andreyka
- Recent and future life-extension achievements in the U.S. and globally are expected to primarily stem from improvements in preventing heart disease and stroke, with prevention and wellness cited as more effective than treatment.
- The Human Genome Project has driven costs down from $3.8 billion thirteen years ago to a few thousand dollars in hours, with projections that costs will soon drop to hundreds, enabling precision medicine to revolutionize the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of over 4,000 genetic diseases.
- The President's Brain Initiative is planned as a decade-long effort to measure hundreds of thousands of neurons simultaneously, leveraging a convergence of technologies from nanotechnology, engineering, robotics, and computer science to accelerate research on neurodegenerative diseases faster than the current trajectory for cancer.
- Collaborative efforts at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences are expected to reduce the 14-year average drug development timeline and high failure rates, potentially increasing success rates for rare diseases like cystic fibrosis where specific drugs address only 4-5% of patients while others in trials target 90%.
- CDC programs including PEPFAR are currently treating 5.3 million people globally to prevent HIV transmission and save lives, with goals to eradicate polio and scale up measles immunization, though risks remain due to global connectivity.
- A universal influenza vaccine is anticipated to potentially become available within five to ten years, which could significantly mitigate pandemic risks, supported by a supply chain capable of emergency distribution within 12 hours.
- Despite significant scientific advances, grant success rates have plummeted to under 10% for new applicants over the last decade due to sequestration and funding trends, raising concerns about retaining the next generation of scientists.
- Economic and health challenges include approximately $1 trillion in annual costs for U.S. health issues like obesity, diabetes, and elevated cholesterol, with fewer than 1% of Americans currently in ideal cardiovascular health, though those reaching age 50 in ideal health have a less than 5% lifetime risk of a cardiovascular event.
- Future success relies on shifting focus from treatment to prevention through environmental changes and behavioral inspiration, with bioscience investments expected to address 21st-century global issues such as clean water, food production, and bioterrorism defense.
- Global health security depends on international collaboration, as demonstrated by the detection of the H7N9 flu strain through partnerships with China, ensuring that scientific solutions are not only developed but also utilized to protect populations.