Save lives, boost economy by protecting drug research
University of Illinois researchers have developed a revolutionary new technology that delivers scorpion and bee venom directly to cancer cells, killing them without harming healthy adjoining cells. This might be a major coup in the search for a cure for many cancers.
VitruVian Biotech, the startup co-founded by one of the Illinois researchers, will need to invest a lot of time and money to bring this therapy to patients. But the investment dollars to develop this drug - and the many others in the works at Illinois' dynamic biotech firms - simply won't be available unless companies' intellectual property is protected long enough to recoup the huge investment required to bring new drugs to market.
That's why a series of meetings that continue to take place through the fall will be so important to the future of innovation in America. Officials resumed negotiations in Australia last month to work out the details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade agreement among 12 nations in the Asia-Pacific region, including the United States. It will be one of world's largest free-trade agreements.
Trade between Illinois and the other TPP countries helped support nearly 630,000 jobs in our state in 2011. New markets in these 11 nations would provide even greater opportunities for our companies.
A key issue in TPP talks deals with regulatory data protection, which enables a research firm to prohibit competitors from accessing test results submitted to health regulators (in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration) in the process of seeking marketing approval. Access to such data can give a would-be copycat a huge advantage, allowing them to free-ride off the millions of dollars and many years an innovative company invests in obtaining the clinical trial data.
Under current U.S. law, research firms enjoy a 12-year period of data protection for biologic medicines, which differ from conventional drugs in that they're derived from living organisms. So they're highly advanced and complex. Indeed, biologics have proved significantly more effective than traditional drugs in combating such major illnesses as Alzheimer's and HIV. And numerous studies have shown that 12 years of exclusivity is necessary to protect and encourage the investment in biologic medicine R&D - and lawmakers across the political spectrum agree.
To promote development of biologics, TPP nations must commit to at least 12 years of data protection. Yet some of the TPP countries have resisted agreeing to data protection for biologics or have come out in favor of a much shorter period. The United States must hold firm, ensuring the agreement comes up to U.S. standards rather than undercutting the protection U.S. firms have.
This is especially important given that creating biologics is very expensive and time-consuming: on average it takes 10 years and $1.2 billion to bring a biologic drug to market.
Illinois is a leader in biopharmaceutical research and development. This sector not only creates new lifesaving cures; it's a huge boost to the state economy. The biopharmaceutical sector generates more than $53 billion in economic activity statewide. Directly and indirectly, it supports more than 200,000 jobs.
Those jobs are worth taking a stand for. Gov. Pat Quinn should join governors from both parties in 11 other states who have called on President Obama to insist on maintaining the U.S. standard for intellectual property protection in the TPP agreement. And Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin should join his colleague Sen. Mark Kirk along with three dozen other U.S. senators in favor of 12 years of data protection.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership could be a boon for Illinois business and the state's economy - but only if it includes strong intellectual property protections for our most innovative industries.
• Jennifer Hammer is executive director of the Healthcare Council for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.