Castellani and Molineaux OpEd in Patriot News

The oped by John Castellani, PhRMA's President and CEO, and Chris Molineaux, President of Pennsylvania BIO, in the March 4 Patriot News in Pennsylvania is worth a look. Some key passages:

"As more and more industries close their doors in America and relocate overseas, it's critical that our elected leaders - at the state and national level - embrace the biopharmaceutical innovation taking place within our borders.

"In his State of the Union address, President Obama emphasized the need for investments in biomedical research. We agree, but innovation does not happen in a vacuum; it requires sound policies to support the high level of investment that is needed: roughly $1.3 billion and 10-15 years for the average new medicine. Even then, only two in 10 approved medicines will ever recoup their investment costs.

"Support from policymakers will ensure that work being done in states such as Pennsylvania continues to help America lead the world in medical breakthroughs. And Pennsylvanians are no strangers to medical innovation."