Good Day BIO: A food crisis is coming

A food crisis is coming—and climate change will make it worse, says BIO in comments ahead of a House hearing today. BIO’s Chief Policy Officer John Murphy digs into a recent study examining how much hospitals mark up prices of cancer drugs—and the findings may shock you. (657 words, 3 minutes, 17 seconds)

A food crisis is coming – and climate change will make it worse

We need to incentivize the adoption of innovative biotech tools to respond, says BIO in comments ahead of today’s House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis hearing on food supply chains. 

The context:Food and fertilizer are top of the agenda for world leaders meeting this week in Davos, with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva kicking off the meeting warning of a “global food crisis,” and David Beasley, Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme, warning “food availability problems” could affect everyone.

However: “[T]he impact Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had on global food prices pales in comparison to the impact climate change will have on food supplies in the future,” says BIO in comments submitted to the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.

21% of agricultural production is already affected by climate change, says BIO, citing research published in Nature Climate Change, “equivalent to losing the last seven years of productivity growth.”

Biotech can provide “solutions and tools” to “increase crop yields,” “improve carbon sequestration,” “reduce water use,” “reduce food waste,” and “bolster animal welfare,” among others.

But we “must incentivize the adoption”—“and streamline and expedite regulatory pathways for breakthrough technology solutions,” continues BIO. This also includes passing the Growing Climate Solutions Act, which can help remove technical entry barriers to producers participating in carbon credit markets enabling agriculture to be part of the solution. 

The bottom line: “To meet the challenge of climate change, and foster resiliency and sustainability throughout the agricultural value chain, it is crucial to lead with science and U.S. innovation,” as BIO’s Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath has said.

More Agriculture and Environment News:

The Telegraph: Gene-edited crops sped up to guarantee food supplies
“Amid concern over the UK's food self-sufficiency, the Government will this week introduce a bill which will allow farms to grow more crops by planting variants that have been edited to be more resistant to disease or need less water or fertilizer.”

How much do U.S. hospitals mark up prices of certain cancer drugs?

BIO’s Chief Policy Officer John Murphy asks the question in exclusive analysis for Bio.News.

The key finding: A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine “revealed that hospitals—not manufacturers—often determine what patients and insurers pay for lifesaving cancer drugs,” says Murphy. 

In the study authors’ words: “median price markups across centers ranged from approximately 120% (sipuleucel-T) to 630% (leuprolide) of estimated hospital acquisition costs.”

In other words: “for every cancer therapy analyzed, hospitals are charging insurers at least double the drug’s acquisition cost,” explains Murphy. “Insurers offset revenue losses from hospital markups by charging patients higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs.”

Why it matters: “Drug manufacturers often get the blame for patients’ cost sharing on drugs. As a result, lawmakers are continuing to pursue harmful price-setting legislation,” concludes Murphy. “That’s the wrong approach. Targeting drug manufacturers will do little to lower patient out-of-pocket costs. Worse still, it could mean the next generation of cures dies in the lab.” 

Read the whole thing.

Listen: Dr. Vinay Rathi of Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Mass General Brigham, one of the authors of the study, joined the I am BIO Podcast to discuss his findings and what they mean for patients—listen here.

More Health Care News: 

Pfizer: Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine demonstrates strong immune response, high efficacy and favorable safety in children 6 months to under 5 years of age following third dose
“Vaccine efficacy of 80.3% was observed in descriptive analysis of three doses during a time when Omicron was the predominant variant.”

President Biden’s Tuesday: In Tokyo, he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia before departing. In addition, the President's talks with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida touched on ways to get the U.S. re-engaged in a trade agreement with the Pacific Rim countries. He’ll get back to the U.S. this afternoon. Meanwhile, the FDA is scheduled to meet on June 14-15 to decide on vaccines for small children, reports Reuters. 

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: We’re keeping an eye on the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis hearing, Climate Smart from Farm to Fork: Building an Affordable and Resilient Food Supply Chain, which kicks off at noon ET.