BIO: Build Back Better Act weakens U.S. innovation ecosystem, hurts patients

Michelle McMurry-Heath, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act on Nov. 19:

“The legislation that passed the House today will upend a successful Medicare system and weaken the innovation ecosystem that has made America the leader in the development of new treatments and cures that are so critical for patients in the United States and around the globe.

“We have repeatedly warned that the legislation will create billions of dollars in market distortions and unintended consequences for patients. It will have enormous implications in what research investments are made and if important new classes of medicines can attract the funding they need to get from the bench to a patient’s bedside.

“The biopharmaceutical sector is one of the most vibrant and vital pieces of America’s economy. Legislators were forced to spend over $2.8 trillion in stimulus money because of the pandemic, but now they eagerly enact price controls and other anti-innovation policies targeting the very industry that ended the pandemic. As drafted, the legislation punishes vaccines, orphan and rare disease therapies and complex gene-sequencing drug-discovery platforms -- including the one that led to the COVID vaccine -- amongst other egregious policies.

“As the bill moves to the Senate, we hope that senators will consider how these drastic changes will adversely impact patients and do real harm to a sector that is vital to our nation’s health, national security and long-term competitiveness.”

NOTE: NCBIO will be working with BIO, our other national partners and North Carolina's senators to affect changes to this legislation.