June 22, 2017
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
SAN DIEGO – Breakthroughs. That’s the theme for the BIO International 2017.
James Greenwood, president and chief executive officer of BIO, said breakthroughs in the pharma, biotech and medical industries have “saved and prolonged millions of lives and relieved untold suffering.” As an example of the impact of breakthroughs, Greenwood pointed to treatments available for patients diagnosed with HIV. Since the 1980s there have been about 35 million lives lost from the disease, which makes it one of the deadliest diseases in history, Greenwood said.
Greenwood pointed to pioneers in HIV research, such as Gilead Sciences . As a result of the treatments now available for HIV patients, Greenwood said people diagnosed today can expect to live.
“Today, those diagnosed with HIV can expect a much longer life,” Greenwood said.
Not only in HIV, but Greenwood pointed to breakthroughs in cancer research. He said former President Jimmy Carter was saved by an immunotherapy treatment.
Greenwood also pointed to advances in agri-science and genetically modified foods—food he stressed are safe and nutritious.
Breakthroughs such as these and many more are important and he said they have a responsibility to ensure those kinds of advances continue happening. Unfortunately, he said the industry’s reputation has been damaged due to some bad players and negative press surrounding high prices of drugs. As an example, a photograph of Martin Shkreli, the disgraced pharma entrepreneur, was flashed on the large screen in the conference room. Shkreli is most infamously known for acquiring a 65-year-old toxoplasmosis drug and jacking up the price 5,000 percent. Shkreli is currently facing federal money laundering charges and is scheduled to face trial later this month.
While Shkreli has been vilified for high drug prices, he isn’t the only one to receive negative press for raising prices. Mylan was excoriated for its pricing of the Epi-Pen Auto Injector last year. There has also been criticism aimed at the cost of treatments for orphan diseases. While those must be acknowledged, Greenwood stressed there is also a high cost to researching many of these new drugs.
“We have to be honest. Some of our medicines come with a very high price. But that’s what happens with a 90 percent fail rate,” he said, referring to the high risk of getting drugs through clinical trials.
Prior to Wednesday morning’s keynote address, Greenwood urged the crowd to defend the industry—remind people what the industry stands for, the value it provides and the results it can bring. Greenwood said BIO has been doing a good job of defending the industry, but he said leaders in the pharma and biotech sector can help by using their collective voices to decry bad legislation that could have a detrimental impact on the industry.
To help that, BIO has launched BIO Action, a tool that will inform pharma and biotech communities about federal and state legislation that could harm the industry.
Texting the word “BIO” to 52886 will provide users with the ability to sign up for notifications about medical, agricultural or industrial sectors where the biotech industry is involved.
Greenwood said the tool will keep users informed, but he said action is also required and urged those at BIO to get involved for the good of the industry.
