BIO and TEConomy released their 10th biennial report on the bioscience industry throughout the country, along with assessments of the status of the industry in each state — including New Jersey. Nationally, the life science industry continues to grow, with jobs in the industry growing 11% since 2018 and a contribution of $2.9 trillion to the total output of the U.S. economy in 2021.

New Jersey continues to be an epicenter of innovation. In addition to being one of the few states with specialized employment concentrations in three or more bioscience sectors, New Jersey:

• Is a leader in employment levels in the biopharmaceutical industry nationally—which continues to grow at one of the highest rates nationally
• Is a leader in diversity of biopharmaceutical companies that are both large and specialized
• Is among the top 5 states for total patents issued between 2018 and 2021, and among the top 10 for patents awarded per 1 million residents
• Is a leader in employment in the medical device and research, testing and medical laboratory subsectors
• Is a national leader in bioscience-related distribution and the largest employment in bioscience-related distribution
• Receives the second-highest amount of total funding from the NIH and in the top 10 states for per-capita NIH funding
• Has seen venture capital investments in bioscience increase by over $100 million since 2018, reaching $706.4 million in 2021
• Has seen medical device and equipment establishments increase by 21.4% since 2018
• Has seen research, testing and medical laboratory establishments increase by 61.4% since 2018

BioNJ couldn't be more proud of New Jersey's continued and growing national leadership in the biosciences industry and in the medical innovation it brings to Patients around the world.  

Click here for the full report.

On October 19, Senators Carper and Toomey authored a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai emphasizing the importance of Congressional input in the position that the U.S. takes in ongoing deliberations at the WTO regarding a proposed expansion to IP waivers to include diagnostics and therapeutics.  New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez was among the signatories. 

The ramifications of expanding this waiver to diagnostics and therapeutics are concerning, in addition to the complete absence of any evidence that the existence of IP protections has inhibited Patient access and the ambiguity regarding precisely what IP would be encompassed by this policy. As a result, BioNJ has engaged the New Jersey delegation to emphasize the importance of protecting the intellectual property of innovators in the life sciences.

As of now, President Biden’s administration has not signaled the position to which they are predisposed. While deliberations have been ongoing, with periodic informal meetings occurring at the WTO, it is likely that the position that the U.S. takes will determine whether the TRIPS waiver is expanded in mid-December. BioNJ will continue to convey the importance of protecting intellectual property to investment and innovation in the life sciences.

BioNJ joined every other Member of the Council of State Biotechnology Associations (CSBA) in sending a letter to President Biden that articulates precisely why the proposed expansion to the TRIPS waiver would inhibit biomedical innovation moving forward. To read the letter, click here.

On October 17, Governor Murphy announced the creation of the New Jersey Manufacturing Voucher Program (MVP), which will be administered by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), and funded by $20 million. Funds are intended to support entities in specific industries in the purchase of new and more advanced equipment to improve manufacturing. 

Grants will be offered at 30% to 50% of the cost of eligible equipment up to a maximum of $250,000. Eligibility will be determined by criteria that include the following:

• Applicant exists in a targeted industry
• Equipment must be located and installed in New Jersey and used for manufacturing
• Purchase quotes, order proformas and/or equipment listings must be provided, and applicants must obtain a tax clearance certificate
• Aggregated project costs must be at least $25,000
• Applicant is in substantial good standing with the NJ Departments of Labor and Workforce Development, Environmental Protection and Division of Taxation at the time of approval

More details are expected and applications will be accepted in the next few months. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until all funds are exhausted.

For Governor Murphy's announcement of the MVP program, click here.

While the State prescription drug legislative package has yet to be heard in committees since the Legislature reconvened, the bills may be heard in the near future. As a review, the package includes the following bills:

• A536/A2841 (Freiman/McKeon/Mosquera/Danielsen/Benson/Reynolds-Jackson/McKnight) | S1616 (Vitale/Singleton/Pou/Gopal) - Establishes new transparency standards for pharmacy benefits manager business practices.
• A2839 (McKeon/Karabinchak/Quijano/Moriarty) | S1614 (Vitale/Pou/Singleton/Greenstein) - Requires health insurance carriers to provide coverage for epinephrine auto-injector devices and asthma inhalers; limits cost sharing for health insurance coverage of insulin.
• A2840 (McKeon/McKnight/Moen/Moriarty) | S1615 (Singleton/Vitale/Pou) - Establishes certain data reporting requirements for prescription drug supply chain; requires Division of Consumer Affairs to issue annual report on emerging trends in prescription drug pricing; appropriates $900,000.
• A3159 (McKeon/Murphy/Benson) | S2829 (Vitale) - Requires hiring of vendor to manage Medicaid Multi-State Pooling Supplemental Rebate Agreement and associated uniform Preferred Drug List.

Additionally, a bill that would establish a prescription drug affordability board (PDAB) was introduced and made progress earlier this year:

• A1747 (McKeon/Moen/McKnight) | S329 (Singleton/Beach) - Establishes Prescription Drug Affordability Board; appropriates $1 million.

Most of these bills have made progress through several committees and are now referenced to the Assembly Appropriations Committee (AAP) and the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee (SBA). Given that there are only a few opportunities for both committees to meet prior to the end of the year in preparation for floor votes, it is worth anticipating that the bills will be considered. BioNJ will continue to engage legislators to emphasize that several provisions would inevitably delay Patient access to new medicines and fail to achieve our shared goal of reducing the costs that Patients confront.

A bill, which BioNJ opposes, will be heard in the Senate Commerce Committee (SCM) tomorrow, Thursday, November 3, 2022 at 1:00 P.M. that would impose monetary and legal penalties for manufacturers of medical devices who do not provide replacements for devices that they recall:

• S2427 (Codey) - Requires manufacturer of recalled medical devices to provide replacement device or pay for replacement device under certain circumstances.

Finally, a bill, which BioNJ supports, that would establish a grant program for science conferences moved through the Assembly Science, innovation and Technology Committee (AST) on October 17 and is now referred to the Assembly Higher Education Committee (AHE):

• A4693 (Tully/Chaparro/Carter) - Establishes "Scientific Conference Grant Program"; appropriates $250,000.

BioNJ is the voice of New Jersey’s life sciences sector in Trenton and Washington. BioNJ’s Public Policy Support Series sponsorship opportunities are now available for 2023. Help ensure BioNJ continues to deliver our message of improved Patient access and enhanced innovation through a Public Policy Support Series Sponsorship.  

Click here for more information.