00Enrolled HJR 20                                                                                                         
01 Urging the United States Congress and the United States Food and Drug Administration to                                 
02 assist in the prompt approval of new drug applications for the treatment of prostate cancer.                            
03                                        _______________                                                                  
04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                             
05      WHEREAS four Alaskans a day contracted cancer in 1996; and                                                       
06      WHEREAS five Alaskans a day will contract cancer in 2005; and                                                    
07      WHEREAS, in 1996, one out of every 59 men between the ages of 40 and 59                                        
08 contracted prostate cancer; and                                                                                         
09      WHEREAS, in 2005, one out of every 39 men between the ages of 40 and 59 will                                   
10 contract prostate cancer; and                                                                                           
11      WHEREAS the rate of men contracting prostate cancer between the ages of 40 and 59                                
12 is increasing rapidly; and                                                                                              
13      WHEREAS the cost of cancer in terms of lost productivity is estimated at                                         
14 $16,900,000,000 each year in the United States; and                                                                     
15      WHEREAS approximately 25 men die every year from prostate cancer in Alaska; and                                  

01      WHEREAS prostate cancer is second only to lung cancer as the leading cause of                                    
02 cancer-related death in men; and                                                                                        
03      WHEREAS most other major types of cancer have specialized drugs associated with                                  
04 their treatment; and                                                                                                    
05      WHEREAS prostate cancer has no specialized drug associated with its treatment; and                               
06      WHEREAS recent trials have indicated the effectiveness of Xinlay (atrasentan) as a                               
07 targeted treatment for metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer, an advanced stage of the                          
08 disease that has spread to other parts of the body and no longer responds to hormone                                    
09 treatment; and                                                                                                          
10      WHEREAS recently completed clinical trials indicate that Xinlay may be useful to                                 
11 the 30,000 men who will die this year from prostate cancer in America;                                                  
12      BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                         
13 Congress and the United States Department of Health and Human Services, United States                                   
14 Food and Drug Administration, to assist in the prompt approval of new drug applications for                             
15 targeted drugs for the treatment of prostate cancer.                                                                    
16      COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President                               
17 of the United States; the Honorable Michael O. Leavitt, United States Secretary of Health and                           
18 Human Services; the Honorable Lester Crawford, acting Commissioner of the United States                                 
19 Food and Drug Administration; the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Lisa                                          
20 Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of                                  
21 the Alaska delegation in Congress, and all other members of the 109th United States                                     
22 Congress.