Accelerating Cures Act of 2008 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to define "translational research" to mean research that transforms scientific discoveries arising from laboratory, clinical, or population studies into clinical application to reduce disease incidence, morbidity, and mortality.
Establishes a Pathways to Cures Subcommittee within the Office of Portfolio Analysis and Strategic Initiatives (OPASI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to help advise and direct translational research priorities.
Requires the Director of NIH to establish a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) on clinical effectiveness research. Requires the Director of FFRDC to establish an independent Clinical Effectiveness Advisory Board.
Requires the Director of OPASI to appoint a Director of Centralized Institutional Review Boards who shall establish and oversee the functioning and progress of a series of such Boards to serve as human subject safety and well-being custodians for multi-institutional clinical trials that are funded by public research dollars.
Requires the Director of NIH to: (1) commission the Institute of Medicine to study the rules that protect patient safety and anonymity; (2) examine informed consent processes; and (3) ensure that each institute and center of NIH has established a translational research training program.
Requires the Director of OPASI to develop a Translational Development Program for New Innovations to guide entities through the translational research development process.
Establishes the Translational Research Fund to consist of amounts appropriated for translational research priorities.
Requires each application for, and summary of, a project, grant, or contract from NIH to include a statement on the possible applications of the research for detecting, treating, or curing a health condition or disease state.