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POLICY FRAMEWORK
Our aim is to empower life science innovation in the United States by advocating for policies that support a strong biotechnology ecosystem.
I
Incentivizing and Protecting a Robust Research & Development Ecosystem in the United States
Developing new drugs requires significant investment and carries significant financial risk. It can take 10-15 years to develop a single drug and require over $2 billion in investment. Meanwhile, 9 out of every 10 drugs that make it to clinical trials are never approved by the FDA. Unfortunately, recent efforts to impose government-mandated price controls on prescription drug prices threaten the development of new treatments and jeopardize investment in this sector. Some state and federal policymakers are proposing to take policies even further in the wrong direction. According to one estimate, expanding existing price controls could lead to 200+ fewer FDA approvals of new medicines over the next decade and threaten up to 1.1 million jobs.
The effects of these policies are already being felt. Now is not the time to double down on policies that are already reducing investments in cures and treatments. Instead, we support efforts to protect U.S. leadership in the world. This can include expanding R&D tax credits to apply to broader medical treatments to foster innovation for future medicines and treatments.
Further, we advocate for additional funding for the National Institutes of Health and other research facilities to expand critical future medical discoveries.
II
Reducing Patient Access Barriers to Medicine
Far too many patients struggle to access and afford their medications due to harmful practices by payers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). So-called “utilization management” policies imposed by payers and PBMs, such as step therapy, prior authorization and restrictive formulary tiers, impose unnecessary barriers to patient care.
We support reforms to limit these practices and ensure all patients can access the medication that best serves their unique healthcare needs.
III
Protecting and Supporting High-Quality Jobs in the United States
The biopharma industry supports more than 4.9 million jobs in the United States. It is the backbone of innovative jobs in this country with the largest number of R&D jobs of any U.S. industry. We support policies that would protect these jobs, the economies they support and the patients they serve.
Additionally, the biopharma industry supports a variety of indirect jobs that are critical to supporting the industry and the communities in which these facilities are based. These unique and critical jobs include the skilled labor required to build and maintain biopharmaceutical industry facilities, and the businesses and communities in and around these facilities – across all 50 states.
In order to develop the treatments and cures for tomorrow, we also believe it is essential to prepare the workforce of today with investments in STEM education.
IV
Retaining America’s Position as Leader in Healthcare and Medical Innovation
The United States is the global leader in life science innovation, but we are at risk of losing that position to China and other countries if we continue to advance policies that disincentivize investments in the United States. That’s why it is vital to support policies that keep innovation at home. This includes protecting U.S. intellectual property rights, and powering innovation – as well as expanding – America’s manufacturing capacity for vital medicines.
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