Bridge the Gap Between Basic Research and Patient Care, NIH Head Urges

I can easily see this as a major problem. All the written abstracts and articles I've read are essentially worthless because no one is translating them into possible rehab protocols. I thought that was what this agency was to accomplish -->> National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2012/04/11/bridge-the-gap-between-basic-research-and-patient-care-nih-head-urges/
Imagining the gulf between basic science and applications as a body of water, Collins said linking them wouldn’t be like building the Golden Gate Bridge.
Rather, it’s more like a swimmer, a sailboat and a tugboat all attempting to cross the water.  There are sharks and other obstacles in the water, causing the swimmer to die, the sailboat to capsize and the tugboat to run aground.
So what could help accelerate translation research, particularly drug development?
One thing, says Collins, is to encourage all companies to “open their drug freezers” for compounds that were determined to be safe and active — meaning it had an effect on the body — but weren’t found to be useful for the purpose for which it was being developed.

http://www.genomeweb.com//node/1055051?hq_e=el&hq_m=1250214&hq_l=4&hq_v=0298141c7f
US National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins spoke at TedMed.