PhRMA Pushes Forward-Looking Policies to Grow Biopharmaceutical Sector

A growing manufacturing capability and increased R&D investment in emerging economies such as China, Brazil and Singapore could cost the U.S. biopharmaceutical industry 140,000 jobs over the next 10 years, a report by PhRMA warns.

Pharma currently supports some 3.4 million jobs and $789 billion in economic output in the U.S, the trade group says.

According to the report, developed by the Battelle Technology Partnership Practice, the U.S. must focus on three key policy areas to augment manufacturing and R&D capabilities:

• Coverage and payment policies;
• A robust regulatory system; and
• Strong intellectual property protections at home and abroad.

Specifically, the report says U.S. payers are too focused on lowering prescription drug prices, making drugmakers more reluctant to fund R&D. And as FDA regulations grow increasingly complex, companies may opt to shift their operations to countries with more favorable regulatory schemes.

The report also suggests implementing a globally competitive tax system that would allow companies to access venture capital and other funding and create high-quality educational programs in science, math, technology and engineering programs.

PhRMA CEO John Castellani called the report “a stark reminder to policymakers that innovation is deeply affected by public policies.”

Read the report, The U.S. Biopharmaceutical Industry: Perspectives on Future Growth and The Factors That Will Drive It, at www.fdanews.com/ext/resources/files/04/04-14-14-PhRMAReport.pdf. — Lena Freund

Subscribe to Drug Industry Daily for complete coverage of the pharmaceutical industry. Click here for more information.