For those of us not receiving the PAN newsletter...a topic they recently revisited that sounds vaguely familiar: our shared concern that many promising new therapies flail and falter; never making it past the initial clinical trial- we want to know why these therapies aren't developed and why it doesn't happen more quickly? There is a link to a webcast where PAN members discuss these issues at their 2009 Research & Public Policy Forum. I still feel frustrated by this reality, but I feel more hopeful knowing that orgs like PAN and Faster Cures are working to change our lives for the better.

From the PAN newsletter:

The Valley of Death is a substantial problem facing patients all across America. Basic research continues to provide numerous avenues of promising ideas and knowledge – not only for Parkinson’s disease, but for all diseases. When this research is not taken to the next step to determine if a potential treatment or therapy may result from additional study, the research lies dormant -- the idea comes to a halt. A combination of factors contribute to this, including separation between basic scientists and clinicians as well as a significant reduction in private funding for early stage translational and clinical research. With basic researchers not moving forward and pharmaceutical companies not reaching back to clinical development, we are left with a research Valley of Death, a place where many good ideas lie waiting to be moved forward into clinical development.