Even before the political uproar surrounding the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in March had subsided, biotech-industry watchers were applauding the passage of the historic health care bill. Among the favorite measures in the legislation are generous exclusivity terms for innovative therapeutics within a newly drafted pathway for biogenerics, a lucrative tax credit for eligible smaller companies developing therapeutics, and a substantial boost—30 million or more—in the number of potential clients for biotech therapeutics due to the expansion of health insurance to so many more Americans.

 

“The health care reform bill…includes key provisions that will lead to new and improved treatments, cures and cost-savings for patients, while driving job growth in our industry and maintaining our nation’s global leadership in biotech innovation,” says Jim Greenwood, president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) in Washington, DC. Peter Pitts, president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest (CMPI) in New York, agrees: “This legislation will have a huge impact on biotech companies—the most affected of any industry.”