By Kevin E. Noonan --
The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) held
a media briefing on Federal policy issues today, with most of BIO's executive
staff assembling at BIO headquarters in Washington, D.C. In addition to the media present on
site, BIO hosted several more members of the press by teleconference.
Jim Greenwood (at left), BIO's President and CEO, started the
meeting with prepared remarks concerning healthcare reform, patent reform, and
the energy bill. With regard to
healthcare reform, Mr. Greenwood reiterated BIO's support, provided that any
healthcare bill recognize four fundamental objectives: access for all ("every man, woman
and child"), cost containment, quality, and innovation. Mr. Greenwood also mentioned
biosimilars legislation, where he expressed pride that BIO had "played it
straight" with legislators "from the beginning." BIO's position was consistently that a
14-year data exclusivity period was the right length, and didn't advocate for
longer terms of 16-18 years as a negotiating ploy. He said that BIO had done "quite well" against a "well-organized
coalition" of generics companies, the AARP, the White House, and other
factions. He also said that BIO
was willing to accept the Senate bill's compromise of 12 years if that was what
it takes to get a bill passed. He
also voiced BIO's support for "comparative effectiveness" as a tool
for making medical decisions but not for reimbursement. On energy, Mr. Greenwood maintained
that there was no way to significantly reduce greenhouse gases without
contributions from biotechnology, including cellulosic ethanol technology,
algae, and other methods of energy production. Mr. Greenwood ended his remarks with patent reform, which he
characterized as a "long, hard fight" contested "at a great
disadvantage" against an IT industry that supported "reforms"
that would make it "easier to infringe patents." He voiced BIO's support for the
compromise that had produced a bill in the Senate.
Also addressing the press was Dr. Stephen Sherwin (at right),
BIO's chairman and also the Chairman of Cell Genesys, Inc. Dr. Sherwin, a biotech entrepreneur
throughout his career, spoke on the economic climate for biotechnology. He mentioned the obvious -- that it had been an "extremely
difficult and challenging time" for biotech over the past 18-24 months,
with almost half of the organization's member companies having enough cash for
12 months and a quarter having less than 6 months of cash reserves. He also mentioned that there has been
no significant IPO activity in the biotech sector in almost two years. The reason is that investors are
nervous about the regulatory environment if there is a follow-on biologics bill
and the effects any FOB bill may have on the timing of product
development. (In response to a
question, Dr. Sherwin said that Wall Street hates uncertainty, even when it is
uncertainty Wall Street has created.) On the bright side, Dr. Sherwin mentioned that there had been "some
thawing" in the capital markets in the face of "good news" from
clinical trials, etc. He also noted
that he had met with the new FDA commissioner, Dr. Hamberg, and was pleased with
her "science-based" approach. He also noted that there was progress on reauthorizing SBIR
grant legislation that would permit companies having venture capital funding to
compete for such grants. He said
that he was optimistic, but that "we have our work cut out for us."
Business Week asked about BIO's position on the "politics"
of 'partisan gridlock" over the healthcare and energy bills, where
Republicans might oppose the bills merely to hand the Obama administration a
political defeat. Mr. Greenwood
said it wasn't BIO's role to try to "change the playbook" for the
parties, and that the "big picture" required healthcare reform. BIO has been (and by implication, will
continue to be) "religiously non-partisan" on the healthcare issue,
resulting in strong bipartisan support (with 28 of 38 Democratic members and all but one Republican member of the Energy and
Commerce committee voting for the biosimilars amendment supported by BIO). There is nothing partisan about using biotechnology in
reducing greenhouse gases, he said. Brent Erickson (at left), BIO's Executive Vice President, Industrial and
Environmental Section, chimed in that opposition to the energy bill was not
partisan so much as regional, reflecting differences in the reliance of
different sections of the country on fossil fuels. It has been "a bit of an uphill battle" in
educating Congress about the contributions of biotechnology in addressing
climate and energy problems, he said.
Mr. Greenwood had another opportunity to remind his
listeners that BIO had played the role of honest broker in the healthcare
debate, in response to a question from the Pink Sheet about whether BIO would
need to "cut a deal" with the Obama administration like PhRMA did
(according to the Pink Sheet reporter). Mr. Greenwood said there had not been any horse-trading or quid pro quo
in BIO's position -- he said that BIO's success in pursuing its agenda regarding
FOB legislation was the result of old-fashioned "shoe leather"
politics, by meeting with "scores" of Congressional leaders and
explaining BIO's position. He
mentioned that he carried two things to these meetings: a model of the aspirin molecule and a
DVD showing the structure of erythropoietin (see image at right). Mr. Greenwood also said that BIO's
success makes getting a bill passed even more important, since BIO's "enthusiasm
for the package [will be] dramatically diminished" if the bill undergoes
major changes in the House.
A podcast of the media briefing can be obtained here.
"Mr. Greenwood ended his remarks with patent reform, ... He voiced BIO's support for the compromise that had produced a bill in the Senate."
Patent reform is a fraud on America...
Please see http://truereform.piausa.org/ for a different/opposing view on patent reform.
Posted by: staff1 | September 11, 2009 at 01:03 PM