New Brunswick, NJ, July 18, 2013 ― HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ) President and Chief Executive Officer Dean J. Paranicas issued the following statement in response to Congressman Leonard Lance’s (R-NJ-7) introduction of the FDA SOS (Safety Over Sequestration) Act:
* * *
“New Jersey’s biopharmaceutical and medical technology companies applaud Congressman Lance for his leadership in ensuring that industry-paid user fees collected by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be available to evaluate new medicines and medical devices that will benefit patients in the United States.
“Mr. Lance, working in a bipartisan manner with Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA), seeks to prevent future user fees from being sequestered, and, instead, preserve them for their intended purpose of advancing human health through the evaluation and approval of new treatments and cures.
“The user fees paid by life sciences companies to the FDA are different from appropriated funding, and are not generated from taxpayers. By exempting them from sequestration, the FDA will be able to use all of these funds for timely product reviews and approvals in order to improve patient care.
“HINJ strongly supports the FDA SOS Act, and thanks Congressman Lance, Congresswoman Eshoo and the bill’s co-sponsors for their leadership and support of the patient community. We look forward to working with them on this important issue.”
Founded in 1997, the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ) serves as the voice for the state’s life sciences industry. HINJ seeks to expand patient access to the most innovative biopharmaceuticals and medical devices and promote awareness of the industry’s impact on New Jersey’s quality of life and economic well-being. In 2010, HINJ member companies’ economic impact in the state exceeded $24 billion, according to HINJ’s 2011 Economic Impact Report. To learn more, please visit HINJ at www.hinj.org or follow us via Twitter @ HINJ_ORG, Facebook @ HealthCareInstituteofNewJersey or YouTube @HINJNJ.