2023 | Q1 Newsletter

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CONNECT

ADVOCATE

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ADVANCE

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Welcome to the 2023 Q1 Newsletter. Life Sciences Pennsylvania began the year committed to "standing up for science," encouraging the life sciences community to fight misinformation and misguided policies and drive our mission of developing meaningful breakthroughs.

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Advocacy

Events

Membership

Presidents Message

Anchor 1

Advocacy

ADVOCACY

ADVOCACY ABSTRACT
February 24, 2023

A total of 40 members joined the first edition of Advocacy Abstract to learn more about the roles the Senate and House of Representatives have in the decision-making process towards the life sciences community.

Participants of this event were able to hear from John Ray, Senior Director of Government Affairs at Kimbell & Associates and Mike Merola, Managing Partner at Winning Strategies Washington. These guest speakers unpacked a variety of topics that included: how to prepare for the drug price negotiation provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, PA delegation and health decision-making, LSPA legislative priorities and issues monitoring, and what to expect from the Biden Administration.

Throughout the event, participants had the opportunity to ask insightful questions to our panelists and learn about the resources that are available to them.

PA RARE DISEASE DAY
February 28, 2023

Rare disease patients throughout Pennsylvania are faced with unique, often life-threatening challenges every day. Of the nearly 10,000 rare diseases in the US, only a few hundred have any established treatment.

Life Sciences PA, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Rare Disease Advisory Council (PARDAC), and the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) hosted its 2023 Pennsylvania Rare Disease Day February 28. This virtual event brought together patients, policy makers and researchers to raise awareness on the challenges facing the rare disease community throughout the Commonwealth and highlight the ways in which Pennsylvania is – and can continue to be – a leader in rare disease research and development.

In addition to this event, Life Sciences PA is working with its partners to hold an in-person event – including a press conference and lunch with legislators – at a later date in 2023.  

WELCOME LARA FLYNN!
New Senior Director, Federal Policy & Public Affairs

Life Sciences PA is pleased to welcome Lara Flynn, our new Senior Director for Federal Policy and Public Affairs. Lara comes to us with 15 years of experience in Washington and will be our voice to ensure federal officials understand Pennsylvania’s life sciences ecosystem and its positive affect on patients and the economy.

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ADVOCACY PRIORITIES

2023 State Advocacy Priorities

2023 Federal Advocacy Priorities

STATE OF THE UNION & PRESIDENT'S BUDGET

On March 9th, in Philadelphia, President Biden announced his 2024 Federal Budget Proposal. The $6.9 trillion budget serves as a statement of the President’s priorities and there are several policy changes in the proposal that would affect Pennsylvania’s life sciences community. Principally, the expansion of Medicare’s ability to negotiate prices for prescription medications. The budget proposal builds off policies in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) by increasing the number of medicines that Medicare can select for negotiation and bringing more medicines into the negotiation process closer to their launch. This proposal would also expand prescription medication rebates to commercial insurance when the out-of-pocket costs patients pay at the pharmacy counter rise faster than inflation. President Biden also addressed The IRA cap on out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries, drug price negotiations in Medicare, out-of-pocket cap on insulin, and the inflationary rebate penalty.

We have serious concerns about these proposals and will be closely monitoring the movement of this budget. We will also ensure our Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation understands the complicated nature of prescription drug pricing and how sweeping policy changes can inhibit innovation for life-saving medicines.

Ultimately, the President’s proposed budget will be determined by a politically divided Congress, and they will decide which pieces to include, or not include, from the Administration’s outline.

INCREASE FUNDING FOR THE FDA AND CANCER MOONSHOT

The Cancer Moonshot Initiative aims to reduce the cancer death rate by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years and improve the experience of people who are living with or have survived cancer, their families, and caregivers. The President Biden’s 2024 Budget includes $1 billion for dedicated Cancer Moonshot activities across the CDC, IHS, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the FDA, as well as a total investment at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of $7.8 billion to drive progress on ways to prevent, detect, and treat cancer.

ARPA-H ROUNDTABLE

As the administration works with Congress to establish ARPA-H many states and regions have begun advocating for ARPA-H to be headquartered in their respective geographies. We are pleased to see the President’s budget contain an additional $1 billion for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Health (ARPA-H), as we continue to work with partners encouraging the Administration to locate an ARPA-H facility in Pennsylvania. On March 10th, Life Sciences PA joined Spark Therapeutics along with leadership of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and community leaders for another roundtable discussion in a continued effort to share the strength of the ecosystem and encourage ARPA-H to be headquartered in Pennsylvania.

ADVAMED & BIO FLY-INs | WASHINGTON DC

Life Sciences PA participated in the AdvaMed and BIO Fly-Ins in March in Washington, D.C. During these events several members of the Life Sciences PA team walked the halls of Congress and shared your concerns with over 80% of the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation. We met with members of Congress, chiefs of staff, legislative directors, and healthcare legislative aides. During these meetings with this bipartisan and bicameral delegation we discussed the importance of maintaining Pennsylvania’s leadership in the life sciences and how the United States’ can maintain its leadership as the world leader in biomedical innovation. We raised specific concerns of the MedTech and BioTech communities within our membership regarding R&D tax changes, intellectual property protections, and reimbursement concerns, as well as the overall impact that the Inflation Reduction Act will have on our industry. We explained the complicated nature of prescription drug pricing and how sweeping policy changes can inhibit innovation for life-saving medicines. In follow-up to these meetings, we want to show our Members of Congress this ecosystem first-hand. Please contact Lara Flynn (lflynn@lifesciencespa.org), Senior Director, Federal Policy and Public Affairs, if you would like to host your Member of Congress or their staff at your Pennsylvania facility.

President & CEO Chris Molineaux meets with Rep. Dwight Evans during the AdvaMed Fly-in

Kurt Imhof, Senior Vice President of Policy & Public Affairs, leads a discussion about how to be an effective in lobbying during the BIO Fly-In

LEADERSHIP UPDATE

Due to unique circumstances in Harrisburg, the House of Representatives was delayed in establishing its rules and committee assignments for the new session of the legislature. After November’s election, Democrats won a majority of House seats (102-101); however, three of those seats were not filled due to one representative passing away and two others resigning for higher office. This situation led to Democrats and several Republicans electing a short-term Speaker of the House, Representative Mark Rozzi.

After working through a process to establish new rules, passing legislation to extend the statute of limitation for childhood victims of sexual abuse, and three February 7 special elections gave Democrats an actual majority in the House, Speaker Rozzi stepped down. Rep. Joanna McClinton was elected the first female, African-American speaker of the Pennsylvania House February 28.

Since her election, rules have been passed and committee assignments have been announced as the PA House moves to regular order.

GOVERNOR SHAPIRO'S BUDGET ADDRESS

INAUGURATION OF GOVERNOR JOSH SHAPIRO

The inauguration of the forty eighth governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, took place January 17 in Harrisburg. Governor Shapiro addressed the crowd with positive remarks on the forward progress he hopes to achieve in the state's innovation economy. Life Sciences Pennsylvania looks forward to working with the new gubernatorial administration in advocating for policies that strengthen the life sciences ecosystem in Pennsylvania.

Gov. Shapiro takes the oath of office outside of the state capitol

Governor Shapiro presented his proposed budget for 2023-2024 March 7 in Harrisburg before a joint meeting of the State House and Senate. The plan calls for $44.4 billion in spending by the state government, which represents an 8 percent increase over last year’s budget. This proposal, is the first by Governor Shapiro since taking office in January. 

In alignment with our state policy priorities, Pennsylvania’s three Life Sciences Greenhouses are funded at their annual level of $1 million each, for a total of $3 million, and the Research & Development and Keystone Innovation Zone Tax Credits are capped at their annual amounts of $60 million and $15 million, respectively. We are also pleased to see the funding for the Ben Franklin Technology Partners maintained at $17 million.

Governor Shapiro’s budget calls for an additional $12 million for the Pennsylvania First (PA First) program – a comprehensive funding tool to facilitate increased investment and job creation within the commonwealth. The budget proposal funds the newly created Office of Transformation and Opportunity – a one-stop-shop for businesses looking to grow and an office that will work closely with Commonwealth agencies to facilitate economic growth, job creation and innovation. Finally, it proposes a 50% increase in the Manufacturing PA Innovation Program, which helps connects universities with businesses to find new solutions and spur innovation.

We are pleased the Governor highlighted Pennsylvania’s innovation economy in his budget address – specifically mentioning Spark Therapeutics. The Governor’s acknowledgement of the research and development of new medicines and technologies by our member organizations represents a critical opportunity to engage with an administration that prioritizes Pennsylvania’s early investment in innovation. It’s important to remember this budget address is the first step in Pennsylvania’s annual budgeting process. The Senate and House appropriations committees will hold many hearings in the next several months during which time Life Sciences PA will weigh in with the appropriate legislators to ensure our funding priorities remain intact.

Events

EVENTS

OPEN HOUSE &

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR MEMBERSHIP

January 24, 2023 | King of Prussia, PA

Making the Most of Your Membership, a program designed as the blueprint for new and existing members to utilize their membership and educate themselves on program and event offerings while fostering connections with other LSPA member organizations, was held in person for the first time three years. Long time members joined the discussion to emphasize the many benefits of membership, and give advice on how to maximize the opportunities LSPA offers. LSPA members also gathered for an Open House at the Life Sciences Center, where they made new connections with fellow members of the community.

BIOBRIEFING
February 23, 2023 | King of Prussia, PA

Life Sciences PA welcomed 28 individuals to the Life Sciences Center for a day of instruction on the development of biopharmaceuticals at BioBriefing. Attendees, all of whom were non-scientists working within the life sciences ecosystem, learned about the science behind biotech products, the clinical research process, regulatory filings, and scale-up for manufacturing. "Labs", including the extraction of DNA from a strawberry (left) gave attendees a hands-on approach to experiencing the groundbreaking science being done in their backyard.

CONNECT@ THE CURTIS
March 16, 2023 | Philadelphia, PA

Members caught the opening day of the NCAA Men's Division 1 basketball tournament while networking with their peers at Connect@ The Curtis. Our sponsors, Keystone Development + Investment and Scheer Partners, showed off their comprehensive life sciences space in Philadelphia to the sold out event's attendees.

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR DE&I INITIATIVES

March 23, 2022

Tell Me About Your DE&I Initiatives. continued in the first quarter of 2023, where panelists discussed xxx. This panel features experts in diversity both in the life sciences, and among other industries. This panel included Ann Anaya (Senior Vice President & Chief DEI Officer, AmerisourceBergen), Aney Chandy (Head of DEI, Ferring Phamaceuticals), and Stuart Persky (Director, EEO & HR Compliance Officer, Sanofi)

OPERATOR'S MANUAL

Life Sciences PA continued it's quarterly education series - titled Operator's Manual, with sessions involving experts answering member's topical questions on fundraising and legal advice.

The Art of Fundraising features experts from Danforth Advisors who discuss real life scenarios and advice on topics such as preparing for the seed round, different stages of fundraising, board topics, and more. Seasoned life sciences CEOs discussed their perspective on "building an effective board" in the March 2 edition.

Attendees can have all their legal questions answered at the Legal Answers Workshop. In the March 30 edition, experts from Ballard Spahr discussed topics such as commercially diligent efforts disputes and clauses, IP/Inventorship disputes, supply obligations, and more - from a litigator's perspective.

Membership

MEMBERSHIP

Welcome 2023 Q1 New Members!

20/20 Consulting

Accelerated Biosciences

ApiJect Systems

Archer Insights, LLC

Armstrong Teasdale LP

Biologics Consulting Group

Budd Bioworks

CP Pathways LLC

CosciaMoos Architecture

Cytokinetics, Inc.

Epic Insurance

Evoke Medical, LLC dba DirectSync Surgical

Exelixis

Genesis AEC

Gilead Sciences

J2 Solutions

Keane Consulting

Keystone Development & Investment

MSIDE Solutions

MetasTx

Microsize

Newfront

Pharmatech Solutions LLC

Prelude Therapeutics

Pression LLC

Prince Performance LLC

Rebound

Ren Bioscience

SIA Partners

SciSafe, Inc.

Senzo

Syncro Technology Corporation

Team Clean Inc.

The Leadership Edge

TheracosBio, LLC

US Specialty Formulations LLC

CO-WORKING WEDNESDAY

Life Sciences PA introduced Co-working Wednesdays in January, an opportunity for any member to stop by our headquarters and work for the day. There is no formal program, just a reserved space for individuals to bring their laptops, make phone calls, and bump into someone new. There will be a Co-working Wednesday held once a month, so be on the lookout for dates on the LSPA website and social channels!