National Patient Advocate Foundation CEO Delivers Keynote Address for 10th Annual Association of International Groups for Pharmacy Research Conference at Harvard Medical School

CEO Nancy Davenport-Ennis Provides Status of American Clinical Trials From Perspective of Nation's Leading Patient Advocacy Organization

WASHINGTON, June 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NPAF's Chief Executive Officer Nancy Davenport-Ennis delivered the keynote address at the 10th annual AGIPHARM (Association of International Groups for Pharmacy Research) Conference held at Harvard Medical School on June 11th. AGIPHARM is an association that brings together the subsidiaries of American research laboratories operating in France through coordination meetings, working groups and outreach to key decision makers in the health sector.

NPAF -- the public policy voice of the Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF), the nation's leading patient advocacy access organization -- is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to the mission of creating avenues of patient access through improved access to, and reimbursement for, evolving therapies, therapeutic agents, and devices through policy and legislative reform at the state and federal levels. Aside from her position as head of both PAF and NPAF, Davenport-Ennis also serves on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) Centers for Education and Research of Therapeutics (CERTs) committee, whose mission is to conduct research and provide education that will advance the optimal use of drugs, medical devices, and biological products; increase awareness of the benefits and risks of therapeutics; and improve quality while cutting the costs of care.

"I am honored to have delivered the keynote address this year at the AGIPHARM conference, to share our organization's perspective on what is working and not working with respect to clinical trials in the United States. It is essential that the negative research findings about therapies examined in clinical trials and subsequently used in practice be published in order to set the appropriate standard of care for patients; and it is equally essential that funding for the U.S. public system of clinical trials be increased," said Davenport-Ennis. "I strongly believe that clinical trials allow the best therapies to be developed and targeted appropriately to patients everywhere, and strengthening the system of clinical trials in every nation serves to enhance and improve the health of us all, no matter where we live in the world."

This year's AGIPHARM conference, titled "Access to Pharmaceutical Innovation," focused on two themes: the current changes in U.S. and French health care systems and the role of collaborative instruments as a vector of medical innovation and patient care. The audience this year was composed of nearly 150 French and American healthcare leaders; representatives of central administrations in charge of research, health and European policy; and representatives of leading patient associations.

In the keynote address, Davenport-Ennis focused on cancer clinical trials because cancer is the most frequently reported health condition at PAF, affecting 76.88 percent of patients contacting the organization.  Davenport-Ennis referenced specific patient barriers to clinical trials included in PAF's annual Patient Data and Analysis Report (PDAR), which captures every patient contact and analyzes trends in access to healthcare and resolutions mediated by PAF.  In 2009 alone, PAF successfully managed more than 55,0000 patient cases and provided information to more than 4 million individuals seeking guidance through Website access and materials request.  Other discussion points included reasons patients are not enrolling in clinical trials; what the United States is doing to incent disparity enrollment; costs of clinical trials; and physician payments, incentives and barriers in clinical trials.

Davenport-Ennis is one of the nation's leading patient advocacy experts on issues related to patients' healthcare access challenges. In 1996, she founded the Patient Advocate Foundation, based in Hampton, Virginia, which provides professional case management services to millions of insured, under-insured and uninsured patients facing chronic, debilitating or life-threatening diseases. Davenport-Ennis also founded the National Patient Advocate Foundation in Washington, DC, which strives to improve access to patient care through federal and state regulatory and public policy efforts.

Other participants at the AGIPHARM conference included Counselor for Health and Biomedical Research of the French President of Republic Arnold Munnich, President of the French Pricing Committee Noel Renaudin, French Minister of Health Roselyn Bachelot-Narquin , Johnson & Johnson Worldwide Chairman Sheri McCoy, and former Dean of Harvard Medical School Joseph Martin, among other national and international health care leaders.  

In addition to her work with NPAF, PAF and the AHRQ, Davenport-Ennis also serves on the National Institutes of Health's Open Ended Working Group (OEWG). She has previously served on national commissions for the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Cancer Institute, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, C-Change, and One Voice Against Cancer.

National Patient Advocate Foundation (NPAF) is a national, non-profit organization that is dedicated to the mission of creating avenues of patient access through improved access to, and reimbursement for, evolving therapies, therapeutic agents, and devices through policy and legislative reform at the state and federal levels. Our mission is shaped by the experiences of the patients served through our companion organization, Patient Advocate Foundation.  For more information see www.npaf.org.

SOURCE National Patient Advocate Foundation