La Jolla, Calif. (PRWEB) October 16, 2012
CHI-California
Healthcare Institute today submitted a letter signed by leaders from
industry and academia addressed to Speaker of the House John Boehner,
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell expressing the dire
consequences science funding cuts would have for the biomedical sector
in California and across the country.
California
is the worldwide leader in biomedical investment, research and
development, with more than 2,300 biomedical companies and public and
private research institutions advancing scientific knowledge and
developing new diagnostics tools, treatments, and technologies
addressing diseases and conditions including cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS,
chronic pain, and cardiovascular, respiratory and infectious diseases.
California’s
life sciences industry is also an important engine of economic growth,
employing nearly 268,000 workers statewide, paying more than $20 billion
in annual wages and accounting for $18.6 billion in exports to markets
around the world. Helping to fuel this success story is venture capital
investment and federal research funding from institutions like the
National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation, which
totaled $7 billion for California in 2011. Together, industry, research
universities and institutions, venture capital and the NIH comprise one
of the most successful and important public-private partnerships in our
country.
Unfortunately,
sequestration puts much of that partnership at risk — a $2.5 billion
cut to the NIH budget next year would result in over 2,000 fewer funded
research grants. This would mean fewer research teams working on the
cures and treatments of tomorrow, as well as cancelled or postponed
purchases from U.S. companies that manufacture research tools like flow
cytometers, mass spectrometers and gene sequencers used by scientists in
their work. A recent study conducted by United for Medical Research
estimates that NIH funding cuts under sequestration would lead to 33,000
fewer jobs nationwide — 5,000 in California alone — and an overall $4.5
billion decrease in economic activity.
“As
alarming as its potential damage to the economy is, the long-term
effect of sequestration would be worse because it would sharply reduce
the critical research needed to meet patient and public health needs of
tomorrow,” said David L. Gollaher, Ph.D., CHI’s president and CEO.
“Federally-funded research provides the foundation for product
development by the private sector, leading to new medicines, therapies
and treatments — even entire new technologies and industries.”
Some
examples that illustrate the cycle of innovation, which starts with
federal funding, and results in cures, treatments and technologies for
patients, includes the creation of the biotech industry itself and the
mapping of the human genome. In 1973, research led by Herbert Boyer at
the University of California San Francisco and Stanley Cohen at Stanford
led to the development of recombinant DNA technology. That research,
originally supported by NIH funding, spawned new companies and,
ultimately, an entire industry called biotechnology, which today
continues to grow worldwide. The research conducted to map the human
genome, also fueled by NIH funding, is today revolutionizing science and
medicine with technologies such as gene sequencing, consumer genomics
and personalized medicine.
“The
continued vibrancy of California’s biomedical industry depends upon
continued advances and progress in science that are supported by
federally funded research,” Gollaher said. ”We urge legislators in
Washington to safeguard and sustain this essential public-private
partnership that produces improved public health, economic growth and
job creation.”
About
CHI
CHI represents more than 275 leading biotechnology, medical device,
diagnostics, and pharmaceutical companies, and public and private
academic biomedical research organizations. CHI’s mission is to advance
responsible public policies that foster medical innovation and promote
scientific discovery. CHI’s website is http://www.chi.org. Follow us on
Twitter @calhealthcare, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.
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Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/10/prweb10016052.htm
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