Norwalk, CT, Sept. 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- H.R.8912, the “Access to Future Cures Act,” was introduced to Congress on September 20th which aims to expand Health Savings Account (HSA), Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) eligibility to include storage of blood or biomaterial derived from blood to enable future cell and gene therapy treatments.
Currently, there are 25 FDA-approved cell and gene therapy products and thousands of clinical trials in development. In fact, the FDA has forecasted 10 to 20 new approvals annually by 2025. As approvals continue to climb, so do the promising results of cellular therapy. For instance, a type 1 diabetes patient received successful treatment with a stem cell-derived pancreatic islet cell replacement therapy called VX-880. According to the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, the patient—who was injection-dependent since their diagnosis 40 years ago—had significant restoration of their insulin-producing islet cells after receiving VX-880. This suggests that VX-880 and future cellular therapies may negate the need for people with diabetes to continue using self-injecting insulin.
While many current therapies rely on donor cells, the use of one's own biomaterial allows for better patient outcomes in precision medicine and since cellular health declines over time your healthiest cells are the ones you have today.
“I commend this Congress for considering the ‘Access to Future Cures Act’ which will give millions of Americans with flexible spending and healthcare savings accounts access to high-value preventive healthcare services,” said Chris Garcia, Chairman and CEO of GoodCell. “With promising cell therapies in development to treat major chronic and debilitating diseases, FSA and HSA eligibility for personal cell storage allows average Americans to store their healthy cells for access to future personalized therapies.”
To learn more about GoodCell and how to become a member, visit www.GoodCell.com.
About GoodCell:
GoodCell, a life sciences company, delivers proactive, preventive healthcare services that allow members to participate in precision medicine by storing their own biomaterial for potential future personalized cellular therapy. As the pace of cell and gene therapy breakthroughs and FDA approvals continues to accelerate, so do the advantages of Personal Biobanking. Storing healthy cells now gives GoodCell members greater control of their health in the future and may extend quality of life. Learn more at www.GoodCell.com.
GoodCell is partnered with Quest Diagnostics for a convenient member experience. Scheduling a blood draw is fast and easy at one of the 3,000+ Quest Labs nationwide. Samples are then sent to GoodCell labs for bioprocessing where the most valuable components of the blood are extracted and safely and securely stored in GoodCell’s state-of-the-art biorepository.
