President-elect Joe Biden announced on Friday a plan to make the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy a Cabinet-level agency. Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath, president and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), made the following remarks: “BIO, which represents scientists, researchers, and companies in the biotech and biopharma fields, remains committed to being the voice of science and the voice for science. True to this commitment, we applaud the Biden administration’s move to elevate the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to a Cabinet-level position. “No matter your politics, we know one thing for certain: Science is real. Today, researchers are working tirelessly to end the current pandemic, discover the cures of tomorrow, combat climate change, fight food insecurity, and much more. “BIO looks forward to working with the incoming administration and Congress to ensure the importance of science is represented at all levels of government.”

Stephanie Batchelor, vice president of BIO's Industrial and Environmental Section, released the following statement in reaction to the Trump administration's move to issue Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) waivers for the 2019 compliance year. “This action by the outgoing administration is beyond egregious. More than ever, as we look to improve the public health of our nation and build a 21st century green economy we must support the development of sustainable fuels to clean up our air and bring back jobs. BIO will work closely with the Biden administration and Congress to restore the integrity of the RFS and build off of this policy to establish a national low carbon fuel standard that will foster green energy breakthroughs and decarbonize transportation.”

Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath, president and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), released the following statement on BIO's political contributions:   "As of today BIO will be pausing our political giving so we can reassess the criteria upon which we support political candidates in the future. As a membership organization we owe it to our members to hear their voices in this important decision.  "One of the five new strategic pillars that BIO announced last fall is to be the voice of and for science and at its core science is the search for truth based on evidence. So it is very concerning that some elected leaders last week chose to ignore facts and embrace widely discredited conspiracies which in part led to the horrific events at the Capitol. Our members take this seriously and so do we."

Dan Durham, Executive Vice President for Health Policy at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, released the following statement regarding the recent decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to approve the Tennessee Medicaid (TennCare) Section 1115 waiver demonstration: "We are extremely disappointed that CMS has chosen to approve a waiver demonstration that will put Tennessee Medicaid (TennCare) patients at risk. This dangerous decision will jeopardize access to critical medicines for some of our most vulnerable patients. BIO believes CMS does not have the legal authority to approve the waiver and closed formulary and we will work to protect patient access to the life-saving medicines they need.”