Washington D.C. - Opposition to H.R. 9, the Innovation Act, has successfully removed the patent reform legislation from the House's pre-recess schedule. The collective voice of the life sciences community, including BioNJ and BIO, was raised in overwhelming opposition to the current version of the bill, which does not provide adequate reform to the IPR system of patent challenges at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO).
The bill is expected to be rescheduled for September, which provides an opportunity for us to continue to press for substantive changes to the Innovation Act. Numerous editorial comments have pointed out the flaws in the current IPR system. Here is an excellent opinion piece that ran on CNBC.com recently, written by New Jersey's Joseph Gulfo, Executive Director, The Rothman Institute at Fairleigh Dickinson, as well as an editorial that ran in The Star-Ledger, written by Dr. Francois Nader, Immediate Past Chairman of BioNJ and Chairman of Acceleron Pharma.
Patent reform is a complex process, and we appreciate the time that our legislators will give to deliberation of the bill. We urge our Members to continue to advocate for change that will protect innovation. For more information, visit Patent Reform for Cures at http://patentreformforcures.com. You will find FAQs, letters from our coalition partners, news and an Action Center where you can send a message directly to your elected representative in Congress.
Because Patients Can't Wait, BioNJ will continue to support targeted reforms designed to reign in abusive patent enforcement practices to sustain our nation's global leadership in biotechnology innovation, as well as support the jobs and economic development provided by the life sciences industry. BioNJ's Mission is to help our Members help Patients by bringing the life-saving treatments and medicines they need.
Patent reform is a complex process, and we appreciate the time that our legislators will give to deliberation of the bill. We urge our Members to continue to advocate for change that will protect innovation. For more information, visit Patent Reform for Cures at http://patentreformforcures.com. You will find FAQs, letters from our coalition partners, news and an Action Center where you can send a message directly to your elected representative in Congress.
Because Patients Can't Wait, BioNJ will continue to support targeted reforms designed to reign in abusive patent enforcement practices to sustain our nation's global leadership in biotechnology innovation, as well as support the jobs and economic development provided by the life sciences industry. BioNJ's Mission is to help our Members help Patients by bringing the life-saving treatments and medicines they need.
