I was at breakfast yesterday morning with university and company members of the BIO Technology Transfer Committee. Some interesting tidbits, colo(u)red by my preception and commentary and not to be attributed to any other attendees:
- A lot of the stated support for the Senate patent reform bill is soft and is based on the assumption/condition that the House version won’t over-reach. Conversely, an equally moderate House version could consolidate support and draw new commitments.
- On follow-on biologics, the main bills have two differences: data exclusivity period, and a mechanism to challenge entrants before approval/sales begin. The structural problem that concerns people on the IP side is the risk of a product that is similar enough for FOB regulatory approval, but sufficiently dissimilar to avoid patent infringement.
- Access to medicines, both domestically (ALS New York Times article, ACLU-Myriad lawsuit) and internationally, is increasingly a point of pressure on academia and industry, and has been incorporated in AUTM’s Nine Points to Consider in Licensing University Technology document. Relatedly, there is apparently talk at the HHS Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health and Society about using Bayh-Dole to increase access to genetic testing.
- The SBIR/STTR program is up for renewal in the U.S., and many constituencies would like to see the programs opened up to allow venture-backed companies to receive SBIR/STTR support.
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