Promotion, Protection, and Entrepreneurship: Stakeholder Participation and Policy Change in the 21st Century Cures Initiative

Abstract

The Energy and Commerce Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives developed the 21st Century Cures Act through a fact‐finding process that involved many different stakeholders in the biotechnology field. This effort can be viewed as an example of policy entrepreneurship in that the committee was trying to accelerate the development of new drugs and treatments. Some members of the committee were very active in this process, while others were less engaged. This article investigates what factors influenced individual legislators’ participation level in the initiative. We consider whether there is evidence that legislator characteristics and the types of groups actively involved in the initiative contributed to some important viewpoints going unaddressed. The evidence supports a contention in the literature that legislators approach biotechnology with a promotional focus as opposed to placing an emphasis on protecting the public from harm, which may have led to potentially problematic changes in areas such as informed consent.Related Articles Harvey, Olivia. 2009. “.” Politics & Policy 37 (): 51‐71. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2008.00161.x/abstract David, Charles-Phillipe. 2015. “.” Politics & Policy 43 (): 163‐195. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/polp.12106/abstract Delshad, Ashlie B. 2013. “.” Politics & Policy 41 (): 213‐240. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/polp.12009/abstract Related Media Films: Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. 2017. “.” Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v = 43jnxPb0WFc . 2015. “U.S. Senate Debates the 21st Century Cures Act.” https://www.c-span.org/video/?419543-1/us-senate-debates-21st-century-cures-act n.d. “21st Century Cures: Hearings, Roundtables, and Forums.” https://energycommerce.house.gov/cures-events