Washington, D.C. (July 29, 2020) – The Food and Agriculture Section of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) is pleased to announce the election of its new Board leadership. Sylvia Wulf, CEO of AquaBounty Technologies, Inc., and Brian Brazeau, President of Novozymes North America, were elected as the new Chair and Vice Chair, respectively, of BIO’s Food and Agriculture Section Governing Board. Wulf and Brazeau will also serve as BIO Executive Committee members for the 2020-2021 term. “I’m excited to welcome Sylvia and Brian to the leadership of BIO’s Food and Agriculture Section. They are highly experienced and respected individuals who are dedicated to moving biotech innovation forward,” said Dana O’Brien, Executive Vice President, Food and Agriculture Section. “Their companies represent the best of BIO’s diverse membership.” “Using biology to build resilient food and farming systems and a robust biobased economy is more critical now than ever before. COVID-19 continues shining a bright light on vulnerabilities we didn’t take time to imagine a few months ago,” said Wulf. “Access to basic human needs, such as food and healthcare, are threatened, and racial disparities are being painfully exposed. As chair of the Food and Agriculture Section, I will work with my peers and BIO to speed biotech innovations that improve the human condition.” “At Novozymes, we believe this century will be the age of biology. By using enzymes and microbial technologies in food and agriculture, we can increase efficiencies, reduce harmful emissions and energy use, and decrease the need for pesticides, without compromising performance or quality,” said Brazeau. “By further progressing bioinnovation in animal health, crop protection, and alternative proteins, the industry stands with an incredible opportunity to deliver solutions that match the emerging, global needs of the future.” The Food and Agriculture Section also welcomes Elena Rice, Chief Science Officer and Head of…

Says biopharma researchers and scientists stand ready to support real solutions that will address patient drug costs, continue lifesaving science Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath, the president and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), released a statement today warning that an executive order to adopt foreign price controls on certain prescription medicines could “cripple” companies working to eradicate COVID-19 and lead to less patient access to lifesaving treatments. Dr. McMurry-Heath raised these and other concerns in a letter to President Trump, which urged the president to abandon any further implementation of the executive order imposing foreign price controls. Her full statement is below: “As the pandemic continues to worsen in the U.S., hitting more and more communities, the administration should be focused on doing everything it can to support those on the frontlines working to save lives, get our kids back to school and our economy back on track. While we strongly support today’s action to help reform a broken rebate system and ensure savings provided by drugmakers are passed along to patients, adopting foreign price controls by executive fiat will cripple the small, innovative companies developing the vaccines and therapies that will help end this pandemic and get the American people back to work.  "All across the country, there are scientists and researchers in our labs working day and night to end the COVID-19 pandemic. They are trying desperately to develop the scientific solutions we need to eradicate this devastating public health crisis. We will not overcome this pandemic or future ones if we seek short-sighted polices that adopt foreign price controls from systems that don’t value innovation, disrupt providers’ ability to deliver care and increase barriers to patient access. There is a reason that over half of all the science and drug development related to COVID-19 is coming from the U.S. “It is ironic, but perhaps not…