Yesterday, the national Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) announced that John Crowley, Executive Chairman and Founder of Amicus Therapeutics, will serve as the next President and CEO of the Organization beginning on March 4. As a true trailblazer and visionary, as well as former BioNJ Board Member and recipient of BioNJ’s Sol J. Barer Award, we are thrilled to see John take on this role and are grateful for the crucial leadership that Rachel King, Interim CEO of BIO, has provided.

Debbie Hart, President & CEO of BioNJ (the New Jersey affiliate of BIO) released the following statement yesterday:

“We are ecstatic that John Crowley, Founder and Executive Chairman of New Jersey’s own Amicus Therapeutics, has been named the new President and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization. John is an extraordinary human being with much to offer and a transcendental story that moves even the most hardened hearts and minds. John will bring his clear vision, passion for innovation and true leadership, as well as the ability to tell the industry’s story in new and compelling ways to this new chapter of his life. As a past BioNJ Board Member and the 2011 recipient of the Dr. Sol J. Barer Award for Vision, Innovation and Leadership, we are so fortunate at BioNJ to have witnessed firsthand John’s inspirational spirit and remarkable talent. We look forward to supporting and learning from him in his new role. John is the right leader at the right time. We wish John all the very best as he embraces this new challenge the only way he knows how: with drive and conviction Because Patients Can’t Wait.”

BioNJ will continue working closely with the team at BIO to ensure that the life sciences ecosystem in New Jersey and across the country will continue to bring new and more effective therapeutics to Patients worldwide.

For remarks from Ted W. Love, Chair of BIO, Rachel King and John Crowley, click here.

To read a press release from BIO, click here.

Following the elections last month, described in a past Public Policy Update, the New Jersey State Legislature has resumed committee meetings and voting sessions beginning on November 20.

Notably, a bill that would establish a three-year pilot program devoted to sickle cell disease (S2710) moved through the Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee. Assemblywomen Mila Jasey and Gabriela Mosquera chaired their final meetings of the Assembly Higher Education Committee and Women and Children Committees.

While the majority of bills that have been considered were not directly relevant to the life sciences sector, BioNJ thanks departing legislators for their partnership and looks forward to continuing to work with the Legislature on emerging policy opportunities as we move forward towards the conclusion of this legislative session.

The next voting session is currently scheduled for December 7 by the Assembly and December 11th by the Senate with several subsequent opportunities for committee hearings and voting sessions until the 21st of December.

On November 29, the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy & Commerce Committee held a hearing focused on how artificial intelligence is affecting healthcare. The next day, the Health Subcommittee held a hearing focused on the challenges that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention face. Finally, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on drug shortages yesterday.

The deadline to sign on to a letter that articulates the virtues of the HELP Copays Act that is circulating Congress for legislators’ signatures has been extended to December 10th. While the New Jersey congressional delegation now represents among the highest number of cosponsors on the bill, there are still members of the delegation who have yet to cosponsor. As the bill would prohibit the use of copay accumulator practices at a federal level, BioNJ will continue to engage New Jersey’s congressional delegation to advocate on behalf of the bill.

For more information regarding the bill or opportunities to engage the delegation, please contact Ian McLaughlin, VP of Government Affairs at BioNJ: IMcLaughlin@BioNJ.org.

At the end of November, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Mike Braun (R-IN) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to call for an investigation into the role played by health insurers’ shared ownership with the pharmacies that fill prescriptions.

Of note, the letter opens with a comment regarding vertical integration: “In particular, we are concerned by a recent report suggesting that large insurance companies — including Cigna, CVS Aetna and UnitedHealth — are hiking drug prices at their vertically integrated specialty pharmacies to evade the Medical Loss Ratio (MLS), a statutory requirement for health insurers to spend at least 80 or 85 percent of health care premium dollars on medical claims.”

To read coverage of the issue and letter in the Wall Street Journal, click here.

The Partnership (PULSE), focused on education regarding the role that Mergers & Acquisitions play in the life sciences, is hosting a webinar today. M&A plays a unique role in the ability for innovations in the life sciences to become available to Patients — ensuring that the ecosystem continues to be able to produce new and more effective therapeutics and cures to Patients is critical.

On December 1, Liz Helms, the Founder of the Chronic Care Policy Alliance, published an article in RealClearHealth that highlights the need for reforms regarding the business practices of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). In particular, the article touches on the missed opportunities in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to address some of the central drivers of out-of-pocket costs, the implications of formulary decisions, as well as the ongoing need to address the ramifications that Patients face that result from utilization management and step therapy/fail-first practices.

A study published on November 30 by VitalTransformation explored the role that private and public funding play for new therapeutics that are ultimately approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The study covers the types of intellectual property relevant to this discourse by evaluating unexpired patents from 361 novel, non-generic, small and large molecules from 2011-2020 in the FDA’s orange and purple books. A major finding of the study was that 92% have no Government Interest Statement or federally funded co-development or partnership associated with identified patents. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that while public funding plays a critical role in our basic understanding of human diseases and disorders, the private sector produces the vast majority of funding responsible for bringing new therapeutics to Patients.

To read the full findings from the study, click here.

BioNJ is the voice of New Jersey’s life sciences sector in Trenton and Washington. BioNJ’s Public Policy Support Series sponsorship opportunities are now available for 2024. Help ensure BioNJ continues to deliver our message of improved Patient access and enhanced innovation through a Public Policy Support Series Sponsorship.  

Click here for more information.

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