The HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ) today (March 6) honored U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) with the 2020 HINJ Recognition Award for Patient Access and Advocacy.
“Congressman Gottheimer is a leader in protecting the patient community by encouraging the research and development of new medicines and medical technologies, particularly for those disease states that currently have limited – or no – treatment options,” HINJ President and Chief Executive Officer Dean J. Paranicas said. “This award is in recognition of Mr. Gottheimer’s tireless work on behalf of patients and the medical innovation that helps improve and save their lives, both here in New Jersey and across the globe, and in particular appreciation of his focus on the unique and urgent needs of the rare disease community. This was recently reflected by the Congressman’s successful introduction of an amendment to H.R. 3 that requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to identify appropriate incentives that would lead to the development of treatments for cancers, Alzheimer’s, ALS and rare disorders.”
Rep. Gottheimer was honored by HINJ at the conclusion of a roundtable discussion on rare diseases this morning at Zimmer Biomet in Fair Lawn.
“Innovation is absolutely essential to getting patients in the Fifth District and throughout our country the quality medical care they need and deserve. With more than 372,000 life sciences jobs in New Jersey, including 73,000 of New Jersey’s manufacturing jobs, it’s the key to creating new jobs and growing our economy,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “This morning, I was proud to receive the HINJ Recognition Award for Patient Access and Advocacy for my work to help patients and to cut costs that hinder medical innovation. I will continue to fight for our doctors, patients, researchers, and life sciences leaders for policies that encourage growth and medical innovation. Ensuring access to quality care isn’t a Democrat or Republican issue, it’s a Fifth District issue. It’s an American issue. It’s a mom and dad issue. And it’s a Jersey issue.”
Today’s meeting was organized by HINJ and the New Jersey Rare Action Network, a rare disease advocacy group. In addition to Rep. Gottheimer and Mr. Paranicas, roundtable participants included HINJ Board Chair Alex Kelly of Allergan, patient advocates representing Action CF, the ALS Association, Congenital Hyperinsulinism International (CHI) and the Rare Advocacy Movement (RAM), together with representatives from several HINJ-member companies.
About Rep. Josh Gottheimer
The Congressman was raised in North Caldwell and graduated from West Essex High School, the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Law School. After college, Rep. Gottheimer became a speechwriter in the Clinton White House. He later worked for the Ford Motor Company, the Federal Communications Commission and Microsoft. He was a member of both the Ridgewood and New Jersey Chambers of Commerce and served on the Rutgers Business School Advisory Board. Rep. Gottheimer has been a visiting fellow at Princeton University’s Center for Information Technology and taught history at the University of Pennsylvania. In Congress, Rep. Gottheimer serves on the House Financial Services Committee and as Co-Chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.