Former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt Joins with Public and Private Sector Leaders to Highlight Urgency of Moving Forward with National Agenda
New Brunswick and Camden, NJ, July 13, 2010 — The U.S. is quickly losing ground as a leader in medical innovation and must embrace a public policy agenda to create jobs, cure chronic disease and ensure state and national competitiveness well into the future, a group of public and private sector leaders told a gathering of innovators and health officials at the Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey in Piscataway and at Cooper University Hospital in Camden today.
The events, hosted by the Council for American Medical Innovation (CAMI), BioNJ, the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ) and We Work for Health New Jersey (WWFH-NJ), included the participation of:
- Former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt, who now serves as the Chairman of CAMI;
- Caren S. Franzini, Chief Executive Officer, New Jersey Economic Development Authority;
- Dr. Richard L. McCormick, President, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey;
- Dr. Jay A. Tischfield, Executive Director, Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey and Scientific Director, Rutgers University Cell and DNA Repository as well as the Chair, Department of Genetics at Rutgers, and the Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, UMDNJ;
- Joaquin Duato, Company Group Chair Pharmaceuticals Americas, Johnson & Johnson;
- Walt H. Plosila, Ph.D., Senior Advisor to Battelle’s Technology Partnership Practice; and
- John P. Sheridan, Jr. President and Chief Executive Officer, Cooper University Hospital.
“Medical innovation presents the best opportunity to help innovate our way out of the health and economic crises facing America today, but it’s clear the clock is ticking,” said Congressman Gephardt. “Advancing a national strategy for medical innovation that engages all sectors – public, private and academic – through an empowered federal office is an effective first step.”
“New Jersey is the global epicenter of medical innovation – the life science and pharmaceutical industry in our state not only contribute to the advancement of global human health, but the high-paying jobs, spin-off jobs, construction activity and other economic impacts that are the key driver of New Jersey’s workforce and economy,” said Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno. “Finding new treatments and cures for the world’s most dreaded diseases while keeping and growing these jobs in America – and New Jersey – is of critical importance to the world’s health and our state’s economic well-being.”
At the event, CAMI and We Work for Health unveiled a public policy agenda based on a recent study by Battelle: “Gone Tomorrow? A Call to Promote Medical Innovation, Create Jobs, and Find Cures in America.” The study, commissioned by CAMI, reflects direct feedback of leaders representing patients, academia, private industry, research, labor, venture capital, government, and economic development.
Medical innovation generates high-quality jobs, and if properly fostered, could generate many more across the state. New Jersey has been known for decades for its strong concentration of large, multinational biopharmaceutical and medical technology companies – the industry employed nearly 60,000 in 2009 and contributed $58.9 billion in total output including its direct, indirect, and induced economic impacts. Each job in New Jersey’s biopharmaceutical sector contributes nearly 300 percent more than the average contribution from jobs in the rest of the state economy.
Despite tough economic times, the biomedical industry grew 14.4 percent in the last jobs cycle, compared to 4.3 percent for all other industries.
“Through discussions like we’re having at events like this today, we can reshape and adopt policies that support leadership and investment in the life sciences, spur innovation, create jobs and improve the lives of patients,” states Duato, Company Group Chairman, Pharmaceuticals – The Americas, Johnson & Johnson.
For more than a year, CAMI has met with an array of experts, including entrepreneurs, innovators, clinicians and patient advocates in communities across the United States to research and understand the challenges faced by those working to advance medical innovation. Based on those conversations, CAMI commissioned Battelle to identify and highlight the best public policy ideas, which CAMI will bring to Congress and the Obama Administration as part of a call for a focused national policy framework for medical innovation.
About the Council for American Medical Innovation
The Council for American Medical Innovation is bringing together leaders in research, medicine, public health, academia, education, labor, and business, who are working in partnership toward a national policy agenda aimed at preserving U.S. leadership in medical innovation. American medical innovators create millions of high-paying jobs, and their discoveries are integral in the fight to cure cancer and other illnesses. The Council for American Medical Innovation views leadership in medical innovation as a key part of America’s economic recovery, future prosperity and health. http://www.americanmedicalinnovation.com
About BioNJ
With 265 member companies, BioNJ is singularly focused on the growth and prosperity of New Jersey’s bioscience cluster. Founded in 1994 by New Jersey bioscience industry CEOs, BioNJ serves as the voice of bioscience companies located in New Jersey, seeks to advance their economic growth and development and works to encourage new and established companies from around the world to locate here. BioNJ represents companies engaged in biopharmaceutical, biomedical, bioagricultural and bioremedial endeavors. For more information, visit the BioNJ Web site at www.BioNJ.org.
About the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey
The HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ) represents 34 of New Jersey’s research-based biopharmaceutical and medical technology companies, many of which make the state their worldwide or North American headquarters. HINJ members employ close to 60,000 people at over 125 facilities around New Jersey, generating an annual economic impact of almost $30 billion, while working to advance global human health by finding new treatments and cures for the world’s most dreaded diseases www.hinj.org .
About We Work for Health – New Jersey
We Work for Health – New Jersey (WWFH-NJ) is dedicated to innovation, research and the development of new cures. It is devoted to many state and local philanthropic causes and strives to be an economic force for the health and well-being of New Jersey residents.