Good Day BIO: Price controls would 'devastate' medical innovation

A new week, a new month—and the last week the Senate’s in session before the August recess. We’ll be keeping an eye on what happens with the “slimmed down” Build Back Better, which includes anti-science drug price controls. Meanwhile, we’re worried about the heat—but we should also be worried about soil, says the UN. (651 words, 3 minutes, 15 seconds)

Price controls would ‘devastate’ medical innovation, say state industry orgs

With one week to go until the August recess, Senate Democrats are pushing legislation with anti-science drug price controls—which industry agrees would devastate R&D and innovation.

It’s unanimous: Every member organization of the Council of State Bioscience Associations (CSBA) signed a letter last week to House and Senate leadership noting that proposed drug price controls will “devastate” innovation.

Small biotechs are driving innovation: “Most of our biopharmaceutical member companies are small-to-medium in size and relatively few have products on the market. Yet, these companies are leading the world in cutting-edge research to develop new therapies and cures,” said the CSBA letter.

“Most of our member companies do not yet have commercial products and are reliant on private sector investment,” said CSBA—and biopharmaceutical companies reinvest more into R&D than any other sector.

But price controls would put this investment at risk,says a new Vital Transformation study (funded by BIO), which found proposed price controls would reduce net earnings by as much as 70-100% for some companies, hurting their ability to invest in R&D.

In fact, if price controls had been in place over the past decade, just six of 110 currently authorized medicines would have made it to the market, found the study.

Meanwhile, health care costs are rising—but not because of drugs,says Altarum’s latest health sector economic indicators. While economy-wide inflation increased to 9.1% in June, prescription drug prices grew 2.5% after declining -2.5% in June 2021. Dental and hospital prices, meanwhile, rose 4.7% and 3.5%, respectively.  

Take action:Tell your representative to oppose government price setting and support innovation for patients! Act now.

More Health Care News:

The New York Times: In rural America, COVID hits Black and Hispanic people hardest
“At the peak of the Omicron wave, COVID killed Black Americans in rural areas at a rate roughly 34 percent higher than it did white people,” according to new research.

90% of topsoil at risk by 2050 – but biotech can help

A full 90% of the Earth’s topsoil is likely to be at risk by 2050,  the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned last week—but biotech can help reduce soil erosion and salinization.   

Soil trivia: “Did you know that the equivalent of one soccer pitch of soil erodes every five seconds? Yet it takes 1,000 years to produce just a few centimeters of topsoil,” says FAO.

What can we do about it? The UN is calling for more action on soil, including working with countries to map soils and improve the amount of organic matter in them, and raising awareness through activities like World Soil Day.

Here’s one biotech solution: “a protective coating—consisting of silk, sugar, and bacteria—that could help to cultivate seed growth in highly saline soil, potentially making these lands accessible to farming again,” Fast Company reported last year.

GMOs and gene editing can help prevent it in the first place—by promoting no-till agriculture, which helps keep soil in place and helps to reduce soil erosion and water runoff, explains GMO Answers, as well as making crops resistant to disease and pests, thereby reducing the need for pesticides.  

And gene editing is boosting the health of the soil itself: “Researchers at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies are using gene editing to develop plants with bigger, deeper roots, which will stay in the ground after the crop is harvested,” explained Innovature. “Over time, these roots will break down slowly, helping to replenish the soil with carbon.”  

Why it matters: To prevent food shortages and feed a growing population, agricultural output must expand 60% worldwide—and 100% in certain emerging countries, FAO reported recently.

Registration is open for BIO Impact, September 19-21, 2022, in Omaha, Nebraska!

President Biden’s Monday: After testing positive for COVID again, he’s back in isolation (but notably does not have any new symptoms).

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: The House is already in recess for August, but the Senate has one week to go—and Senate Democrats are pushing to pass the $700 billion “slimmed down” Build Back Better legislation, which includes anti-science drug price controls. We’ll be watching.