Resilience needs innovation—and workable regulations

You made it through September. We’re starting the month thinking about how we should talk about science—including how we can boost and commercialize animal biotech innovation, and the importance of having pride in the scientific process, especially as it relates to COVID-19 technologies. Here are around 830 words, 4 minutes.

Resilience needs innovation—and workable regulations

COVID-19 has highlighted the need for innovation and resilience, but our regulatory system for animal biotech has held us back, argues an op-ed in Agri-Pulse.

America’s “regulatory system for animal agriculture—specifically animal biotechnology—has not kept pace with science,” says Ryan F. Quarles, Kentucky’s Agriculture Commissioner and President of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), in Agri-Pulse.

This could have serious consequences for the economy. As one example, Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), a viral disease that causes reproductive failure and death in pigs, costs the U.S. pork industry upwards of $664 million annually, while outbreaks of African swine fever and avian flu could have similar impacts.

Animal biotechnology could help. Innovations like gene editing could make pigs resistant to these diseases.

But “breakthroughs are being held back by an awkward and unworkable regulatory system,” explains Quarles. “There is no way to know how long it will take, or how much it will cost before products are approved for market.”

So, what kind of system do we need? Instead of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulating animals like “drugs,” animal biotech should be overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) which has “expertise in food production,” he continues.

The bottom line: “We need policies that will redefine agriculture toward a healthy and resilient world. Innovation is essential to making that goal a reality,” he concludes. We agree.

Learn more about how One Health policies could help us respond to zoonotic disease outbreaks.

More Ag & Environment News:

FDA: FDA Releases New "Feed Your Mind" Consumer Education Materials
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has posted additional consumer educational materials for "Feed Your Mind," an initiative to provide science-based information on genetically modified foods, commonly called GMOs or genetically modified organisms.

Let’s talk about science

Recent polls show as many as 42% of Americans lack trust in the vaccine approval process and just 21% will “definitely” take a COVID-19 vaccine. With infection and death rates still high, what should we do? Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials and BIO’s Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath say it comes down to how we talk about science.

“Despite recent political actions, we continue to have confidence in the integrity and high-quality scientific work of FDA staff,” said seven former commissioners of the agency in The Washington Post, explaining FDA’s “strict standard for evidence" in clinical trials.

“Scientists should make decisions based on data, unfettered by political pressure or the intrusions of ideology or vested interests,” they continued. “Political intrusion only prolongs the pandemic and erodes our public health institutions.”

“We have to defend vigorously the integrity of that scientific process,” BIO President and CEO Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath told Dr. Sophia Ononye-Onyia on the Amplifying Scientific Innovation Podcast.

The science has made incredible strides. We already have nine COVID-19 vaccines in phase 3 clinical trials, which is simply unprecedented.

But: “What has not progressed as quickly is our ability to communicate what we’re doing—the complexity of what we’re doing—to the public we serve,” she continued. “And that has to catch up with the technology, because the technology is only as good or as useful as society’s understanding of its potential.”

We’re taking steps to get there now—with BIO leadership and many member companies working on COVID-19 vaccines committing to uphold the scientific process.

Dr. Michelle’s Diagnosis: Science needs to take a broad leadership role in terms of guiding our nation and guiding the world. And I think our scientists have lost a little bit of our pride and our confidence to speak at that level and to speak out in a wider setting. But the science itself is strong—so we need to regain that pride because our work backs it up. – BIO President and CEO Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath

Listen to the whole conversation on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform.

Want more Dr. Michelle? Today, October 1, at 3:30 PM ET, she will join the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Innovation Policy Center for a virtual conference, Equality of Opportunity in the Innovation Economy. Pfizer Corporate Counsel John Miller will also participate. Click here for details and registration.

BIO announced new partnership with Mercer to provide high-quality insurance plans to small companies.

BIO Beltway Report