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BIO reacts to changed CDC vaccine recommendations. Plus a BIO initiative to support biotech investment. (746 words, 3 minutes, 43 seconds) |
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BIO warns of risks from change to CDC’s vaccine recommendations |
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BIO warned that new changes in federal recommendations for the childhood vaccination schedule are not based on science and will put children at risk.
What happened: The Health and Human Services Department (HHS) announced Jan. 5 that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now only routinely recommends 11 vaccines for all American children as opposed to the 17 vaccines it previously recommended.
BIO’s reaction: “The US vaccination schedule is the result of decades of a rigorous, public-facing, science-based process,” said a statement from BIO. “Today, that America first gold standard was upended with a wholesale change to the schedule without any clear medical or scientific reason.”
Why it matters: “Weakening recommendations for vaccines in the name of ideology over epidemiology undermines America’s leadership in public health and trust in our health authorities. It stokes fear and confusion among parents and health care providers,” said BIO’s statement.
Bottom line: “Instead of making America healthy again, these actions increase the risk of serious illness for all Americans, especially children. Enough is enough. We must return to decisions guided by medical expertise and scientific evidence,” BIO concluded.
Read more on Bio.News.
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BIO Investment Council launched to connect investors and small biotechs |
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BIO last week announced the launch of the BIO Investment Council (BIC), a new initiative to increase engagement between investors and BIO members.
How it works: BIC will engage companies and investors to accelerate biotech investment. It will advise BIO on policies that facilitate this investment and identify how policy uniquely impacts emerging biotechs. And BIC will play a role in BIO events, including the BIO Investor Growth Summit, running March 2-3 in Miami Beach.
Why it matters: “Private capital funding is the lifeblood of America’s small to midsize biotech innovators,” said BIO President & CEO John F. Crowley. “Today, more than half of innovative new medicines originate in small to mid-size biotech companies. Yet, despite incredible scientific progress and promise, significant challenges remain in private capital formation to support emerging companies.”
What they’re saying: “Small and emerging biotech companies are facing unprecedented challenges,” said the new BIC Chair, BIO Board Member Dr. Doug Dieter, Partner at Ares Management and Co-Head of Ares Specialty Healthcare. “Through BIC, our goal is to remove barriers to accessing capital and improve the investment outlook for our sector.”
Read more on Bio.News.
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Vaccines are a domestic manufacturing success story deserving government support, says Phyllis Arthur, BIO EVP and Head of Healthcare Policy & Programs. “Vaccine manufacturing is the model of what a revitalized U.S. industrial base should look like,” Arthur writes in U.S. News & World Report. She cites domestic vaccine manufacturing by Moderna and CSL Seqirus, and investments by Merck, Sanofi, and others. “Yet recent actions are eroding confidence in this proven foundation,” she says, noting HHS cancellation of more than 20 federally funded vaccine research projects and other moves shaking confidence in vaccines. “Vaccines should serve as the blueprint,” for U.S. manufacturing, Arthur writes. “We should embrace the success story we have—not squander it.” Read more here.
In the face of global competition, states policies can strengthen the biotech sector, says Patrick Plues, BIO SVP of State Government Affairs & Affiliate Relations. “Thankfully, many governors and state legislatures around the country are already answering this call—as our new study, ‘The U.S. Bioscience Industry: A Powerful Engine for State Economies,’ demonstrates,” Plues writes in RealClearHealth. “Today, 39 states offer R&D tax credit programs designed to attract investment, spur local manufacturing, and create high-skilled jobs—while also making U.S. biotech production more globally competitive.” Read more here.
BIO Partnering™ offers its robust partnering system and meeting space at this week’s JPM Week. As the year’s biotech dealmaking kicks off with San Francisco’s JPM Week, today through Wednesday, BIO Partnering™ offers its powerful platform, as well as meeting space in San Francisco’s Marriot Marquis. You can use the platform to identify potential partners and investors, request meetings, and determine a date and location that works for you and your meeting participants. Read more here.
Novartis will build a new radioligand therapy (RLT) manufacturing facility in Winter Park, Fla. The announcement of the 35,000-square-foot facility is the latest milestone in Novartis’s continuing $23 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing and R&D sites. It will help the company maintain its rate of more than 99% of RLT doses being administered on the planned day. RLT is a precision treatment that pairs a tumor-targeting molecule (ligand) with a therapeutic radioisotope, allowing radiation to be delivered directly to the tumor while minimizing harm to surrounding tissue. Read more here. |
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President Trump promised to meet with leaders of the insurance industry “in a few days” to press for more affordable health insurance. In a related move, the House Ways & Means and Energy & Commerce committees last week announced a joint hearing set for Jan. 22 to ask insurers how to make health care more affordable. Witnesses include the CEOs of UnitedHealthcare, CVS Health, Cigna Healthcare, Elevance Health, and Blue Shield of California. After the House last week passed an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, we’ll be watching whether the Senate takes up its own alternative version.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee will hold a Jan. 15 markup of several bills, including S. 1157, the Women and Lung Cancer Research and Preventive Services Act. The House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee will hold a Jan. 13 hearing to discuss “Maintaining American Innovation and Technology Leadership.” |
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