Biotech Policy

On August 23 issued a U.S. District Court issued a decision prohibiting the use of federal funds to support embryonic stem cell research. 

This decision got some attention in the blogosphere this week.

DarkSyde at DailyKos writes that because of this decision,

Vaccines and immunization have enormous potential to eradicate devastating diseases and make significant advances in infectious disease prevention. Existing vaccines and vaccines under development promise a number of benefits in the fight against disease.

One piece of legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) may have a positive impact on the U.S.

BIO hosted a media briefing on Wednesday, June 30th, with Jim Greenwood and Rachel King, Co-Founder and CEO of GlycoMimetics, Inc. and member of BIO’s Executive Committee.

On February 4th, BIO hosted a media briefing on how efforts to restrict gene patenting and licensing would threaten advances in public health and harm the national economy. Participants included:

BIOtech Now’s Tracy Krughoff talks to Dr. David Agus of the University of Southern California’s Westside Prostate Cancer Center and the Center for Applied Molecular Medicine. His research focuses on the application of proteomics and genomics for the study of cancer and the development of new therapeutics for prostate cancer. Dr. Agus also is one of the judges for the Biotechnology Humanitarian Award, which will be given at the 2010 BIO International Convention.

Listen to the podcast:
http://www.bio.org/podcasts/agus.wma

We issued a late breaking call for sessions for the 2010 BIO International Convention today. Open for 4 Days  - Due Thursday, February 4th http://tinyurl.com/yej8j8c To respond to requests for recent and timely session topics, we are accepting six new late-breaking sessions for the 2010 BIO International Convention.

Danny Levine of the Burrill Report conducted a podcast with BIO President & CEO Jim Greenwood today on BIO's public priorities for 2010. Discussion topics include what happens next with national health care reform, biosimilars, patent reform, and biofuels. You can listen to the podcast on the Burrill Report website at http://www.burrillreport.com/article-2090.html.

Biosimilars, also known as follow-on biologics, may eventually expand access and provide patients a more affordable alternative to innovative, lifesaving medicines. However, there are a few important safeguards that must be put into place before these “similar but not the same” versions of biologics can be safely introduced to the public.  Join Dr.

Last summer, BIO joined with former Vermont Governor Howard Dean to advocate for biosimilar legislation that protects patient safety and promotes necessary incentives for continued innovation of biologics.

BIO is a key co-sponsor for a key meeting on genomics policy being held by the FDA and the Drug Information Association (DIA).

The meeting is entitled: 5th Workshop in a Series on Pharmacogenomics: Generating and Weighing Evidence in Drug Development and Regulatory Decision Making

It will be held February 2, 2010 8:00AM – February 4, 2010 3:00 pm at the Marriott Bethesda North Hotel.