New classes of medications "hold great promise for the treatment of previously intractable disease," but "several challenges must be met if these new molecules are to be clinically useful," Robert Rubin, a professor at Harvard Medical School and associate director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women's Hospital, writes in a Boston Globe opinion piece. According to Rubin, such challenges include an "international shortage of clinical scientists ... capable of transferring laboratory discoveries to the bedside in the safest and most efficient manner"; the "absence of widespread arrangements for side-by-side collaboration among academic, pharmaceutical industry and government scientists to work together on new medicines"; and the "availability of measurement strategies to evaluate candidate therapies." He writes, "With all drugs, we need to be assured they can safely do the job they are intended to do," adding, "We need to become fully open about our singular and independent roles in the midst of mutual scientific goals." In addition, Rubin writes, "If we are to take on research not only for the creation, but also the application, of new therapies, then collaborative models will be necessary." He concludes, "It is in such new-style arenas of collaboration where tomorrow's therapies will be generated and properly tested" (Rubin, Boston Globe, 5/8).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.