Research, Innovation and Technology

The new report from the ITI Foundation offers strategies to maintain U.S. strength, spur greater innovation and increase domestic production.

U.S. policies spur success: “America still leads in innovation and drug development, in large part due to effective life-science policies, including significant federal investment in life-sciences basic research, robust intellectual property (IP) protections, effective technology transfer policies, investment incentives, and, importantly, drug pricing policies that enable companies to invest in high-risk drug development.”

Recommendations for policymakers: The paper suggests U.S. policymakers should focus on four key areas:

• Maintaining U.S. strength in pricing, tech transfer and intellectual property—and avoiding oppressive drug price control schemes that damage competitiveness;
• Boosting innovation through investment and additional tax incentives that promote research and development;
• Increasing domestic production, including via tax credits and additional funding for key research institutions; and
• Combating foreign mercantilism by making sure that America’s trading partners pay their “fair share” for new drugs, treatments and other medical products.

Innovation in the time of COVID-19: At a time when U.S. pharmaceutical companies are central to the fight against a global pandemic, the ability to innovate successfully is of paramount importance. The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing on Tuesday that discussed the issue, titled “Pathway to a Vaccine: Efforts to Develop a Safe, Effective and Accessible COVID-19 Vaccine.”

The NAM says: “The research ecosystem we have in the United States supports a global leadership position of biopharmaceutical innovation,” said NAM Vice President of Infrastructure, Innovation and Human Resources Policy Robyn Boerstling. “Manufacturers are committed to building upon that innovation—but it’s clear that government-led pricing restrictions and importing bad health care policies used by our competitors is not the way forward.”

Related . . . The NAM has launched a new six-figure television and digital ad campaign aimed at potential rules to address drug pricing through International Price Indexing and drug importation.