House Panel Addresses VA
Medical Research Issues
September 20, 2002-The House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee
on Oversight and Investigations held a
hearing Sept. 19 to address several issues related to
the VA medical research program, including the pursuit of
intellectual property rights, reimbursement of indirect costs
from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the accreditation
of human subject research programs. Subcommittee Chairman
Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) called the hearing as a follow-up to
a similar hearing held earlier this year.
In opening the hearing, Chairman Buyer expressed his view
that the VA has lost "hundreds of millions of dollars"
in revenues by not pursuing its "rightful share of patent
ownerships." In questioning, Mr. Buyer asked VA Under
Secretary for Health Robert Roswell, M.D., to name the top
recent VA research advances and respond with the amount of
royalties VA has received from each of them. The Chairman
also asked Dr. Roswell to supply the subcommittee with a list
of universities that have not signed Cooperative Technology
Administration Agreements (CTAAs), which he referred to as
"non-cooperating" schools. In response to questions
about indirect costs, Dr. Roswell agreed with Rep. Tom Udall
(D-N.M.) that there is no legal impediment to the VA receiving
indirect costs for NIH grants performed in VA facilities,
and that the law states that Public Health Service grants
to the VA should be on the same terms as grants to other non-federal
entities. Dr. Roswell stated that NIH has been willing to
include the incremental cost differences that VA incurs as
a result of NIH research grants, but that NIH feels it would
be inappropriate to provide an indirect cost rate. Rep. Udall
expressed concern that this issue could begin to affect the
quality of care for veterans.
Dr. Roswell's testimony also included an announcement that
the VA will recognize accreditation by the Association for
the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP)
for those VA medical centers that engage the services of a
university-based IRB. The 43 universities with such VA affiliations
will not be subject to both a full National Committee for
Quality Assurance (NCQA) survey and accreditation by AAHRPP.
Information:
Jonathan Fishburn, Director, Research, Education and Veterans' Legislative Affairs
AAMC Office of Governmental Relations
jfishburn@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
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