Over the past year, America’s biopharmaceutical companies have played a critical role in the global response to COVID-19. The unprecedented speed of developing new treatments and vaccines is due in large part to the productivity of the United States’ biomedical research ecosystem, which is sustained by a policy framework designed to support and advance the innovation of new medicines.

Here is a closer look at three key pillars of the biopharmaceutical ecosystem that are central to the success of America’s research and development.