J. Luis Correa
J. Luis Correa
05/08/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/08/2024 21:28
CORREA, BERGMAN, LUTTRELL, PANETTA LEAD COLLEAGUES IN HIGHLIGHTING BREAKTHROUGH THERAPY FOR VETERANS
August 05, 2024
CORREA, BERGMAN, LUTTRELL, PANETTA LEAD COLLEAGUES IN HIGHLIGHTING BREAKTHROUGH THERAPY FOR VETERANS
SANTA ANA, Calif. -On Friday, Representatives Lou Correa (CA-46), Jack Bergman (MI-01), Morgan Luttrell (TX-08), and Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) led a bipartisan letter to President Biden and administration officials highlighting the need for new treatments for PTSD and the promise of MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) to prevent suicide among veterans. The letter also urges the FDA to follow scientific evidence when making its approval decision on this breakthrough therapy.
"We write today to express our sense of urgency to address the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide epidemic among Veterans and servicemembers, and the grave need for new and better treatment options like MDMA-assisted therapy," the members wrote. "... Fortunately, hope is on the horizon. Promising new treatments like MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) have the clinically proven potential to bring Veterans who have long suffered with PTSD a treatment that works."
MDMA-AT has shown incredible promise, with 71% of phase-three trial participants no longer meeting a PTSD diagnosis after three eight-hour sessions of MDMA-AT. In fact, 86.5% of participants experienced "clinically significant" improvements in their PTSD symptoms after treatment, almost doubling the results of the current best treatment for PTSD. Although public comment is an important part of the drug approval process, the members urged the FDA to ensure approval would remain unbiased and focused on the data gained from scientific trials.
"Thousands of Veterans suffering from PTSD continue to take their lives each year. Current treatments clearly are not working well enough, and our Veterans can no longer wait," the members concluded. "If the data and evidence show that MDMA-AT is safe and effective at relieving the suffering that many Veterans face, then we owe it to them and the millions of others who are living with PTSD to make this treatment option available to them."
In addition to Reps. Correa, Bergman, Luttrell, and Panetta, this letter was also signed by Representatives David G. Valadao (CA-22), Doug Lamborn (CO-5), Dan Crenshaw (TX-2), Susan Wild (PA-7), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-1), Jim Costa (CA-21), Joe Neguse (CO-2), Patrick Ryan (NY-18), Seth Magaziner (RI-2), Mark Pocan (WI-2), David J. Trone (MD-6), Derrick Van Orden (WI-3), Bill Huizenga (MI-4), Greg Casar (TX-35), Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), Brittany Pettersen (CO-7), Tom McClintock (CA-5), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1), Darren Soto (FL-9), Brian J. Mast (FL-21), Michael C. Burgess (TX-26), Pete Sessions (TX-17), Michelle Steel (CA-45), Ruben Gallego (AZ-3), Don Bacon (NE-2), Kevin Kiley (CA-3), Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Eric Swalwell (CA-15), Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11), Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Nancy Mace (SC-01), Claudia Tenney (NY-24), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), John James (MI-10), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Neal P. Dunn (FL-02), Rich McCormick (GA-06), Val Hoyle (OR-04), Austin Scott (GA-08), David Rouzer (NC-07), Jason Crow (CO-06), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Young Kim (CA-40), Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), Robert J. Menendez (NJ-08), Gabe Amo (RI-01), Abigail Davis Spanberger (VA-07), Robert J. Wittman (VA-01), Doug LaMalfa (CA-01), Jonathan L. Jackson (IL-01), and Elissa Slotkin (MI-07).
You can read the full text of the letter HERE.
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