By The Honorable Bob Franks, President, HealthCare Institute of New Jersey
Hillside, NJ, February 2, 2004 —Nowhere on earth is there a more important place for the pharmaceutical and medical technology industry than our own state of New Jersey.
Since 1886, when Johnson & Johnson first came to New Brunswick, the Garden State has been a haven for medical technology. Over the decades, more and more pharmaceutical, medical technology, diagnostic imaging and biotechnology companies have made a home in New Jersey — many choosing to establish either their worldwide or North American headquarters here.
Today, New Jersey’s pharmaceutical and medical technology industry makes tremendous contributions not only to our state’s economy, but more importantly, to the quality of health care around the globe. The nearly 70,000 men and women who go to work each day at one of New Jersey’s many pharmaceutical and medical technology companies comprise the state’s largest industry. Our employees are helping to develop new treatments, cures and devices for a variety of dreaded diseases, while they help patients around the world live longer, healthier lives.
Our industry and our employees are leading a health care revolution and New Jersey companies remain the vanguard of the world’s medical research and innovation. In recent years, more than one-third of all newly approved drugs were discovered by New Jersey companies.
And among medical technology companies, our state now ranks third in the nation in developing new medical devices.
New Jersey continues to play a critical role in the search for new treatments for diseases such as cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. As we work to find those new treatments and cures, our industry continues to work with the government to ensure that our products are available to those who need them the most, and that they are made available as quickly as possible.
In the last year-and-a-half, the President signed two historic new laws which enjoyed overwhelming support from our industry. Both the Medicare Modernization Act and the Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act (MDUFMA) have revolutionized health care by getting new, innovative and life-saving medical technologies, devices and drugs to patients in a faster manner than ever before.
These new technologies and medicines save lives, reduce the need for many expensive surgical procedures, decrease and sometimes eliminate lengthy hospital stays, and lower the cost of health care around the world.
Here in New Jersey, the pharmaceutical and medical technology industry continues to have a tremendous impact on the state’s economy and job force. With almost 70,000 employees working at over 100 facilities in more than 80 different New Jersey towns, economic studies indicate that our industry has an annual economic impact of over $22.7 billion dollars on our state.
Moreover, as responsible corporate citizens, New Jersey’s pharmaceutical and medical technology companies contributed over $45 million to local charities around the state last year alone.
Despite these tremendous contributions to both the quality of the world’s health care and the New Jersey economy, our industry remains a victim of its own success. We face mounting pressures as the quest for better and more affordable medicine and treatment methods intensifies. Those pressures come from a variety of stakeholders —government, health care providers, shareholders and patients. These forces are reshaping the business environment in which our industry operates.
The issues that surround New Jersey’s pharmaceutical and medical technology industry are significant and multifaceted: the increased length and complexity of the R&D process, the increased use of medicines and devices to treat and prevent diseases, the increased focus on ensuring access and affordability of medicines and therapies for patients, cost pressures on the public and private sectors and the protection of intellectual property.
With these issues on the public agenda, the actions of our elected officials in Trenton and in Washington have a major impact on this vitally important segment of New Jersey’s economy. During these historic debates, our industry remains committed to leading the world in research and innovation while we continue to be New Jersey’s engine for economic progress.
Former New Jersey Congressman Bob Franks represented the 7th District of New Jersey from 1993-2001. He was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly for 13 years before that. For the past four years, he has served as the President of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey, the Hillside-based trade group for the pharmaceutical and medical technology industry.