Chamber Participates in BIO Legislative Fly-In

The Dallas Regional Chamber advocated on various legislative issues impacting the life science industry during a fly-in on March 31 – April 1 hosted by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) in Washington D.C. This event was attended by hundreds of biotech executives from across the country to advocate on key issues including: follow-on biologics, the SBIR program, patent reform, stem cell research, animal cloning and biofuels.

The Chamber was part of a Texas delegation that visited the following Congressional offices: Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Representatives Kevin Brady, John Culberson, Kay Granger, Ralph Hall, Rubén Hinojosa, Sam Johnson, Randy Neugebauer, Silvestre Reyes, Pete Sessions and Lamar Smith.

One of the timely issues on which the Chamber focused was federal grant funding for technology and life science companies, particularly the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. After another short-term extension passed last month for the program, it is clear that a more long-term program reauthorization is needed before the program expires again July 31. The Chamber urges Congress to address the SBIR concerns that many start-up technology and life science companies in our region face when it comes to funding qualifications by supporting legislation that would re-define “independently owned and operated” technology companies to include companies that are majority-owned by multiple venture capital companies. This would open up the grant pool to ensure that innovation and competitiveness are maintained for SBIR grant applications. The Chamber is actively monitoring this issue and looks forward to supporting such legislation when the program is considered by Congress this July.

Another key issue is developing a pathway for “generic” versions of biologics. Two bills are being considered in the U.S. House of Representatives that would create this pathway. The primary difference between the bills is the length of data exclusivity for the innovator’s clinical trial information. While one bill would provide only zero to five years of data exclusivity, the other bill, H.R. 1548 would allow up to 12 years for the innovator to recover its R&D costs through data exclusivity.

This issue has strong implications on innovation and medical safety issues, with a special importance for Texans. Given the state's leadership in cancer research issues by establishing the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), many of the life science companies developing cancer research biologics could be impacted by this bill.

The Chamber does not have a formal position on this issue; however, we will continue to monitor these issues on behalf of the life science community in North Texas. For more information on the TBC’s legislative affairs, please visit our website at www.DallasTBC.org or contact Jane Edson at (214) 712-1937 or jedson@dallaschamber.org