Source: Fortune
Summary
The US biotech industry is facing a “patent cliff” in 2030, where medicines generating $350 billion in annual sales will lose patent protection. To address this, US firms are turning to China’s biotech pipeline for high-quality assets. However, some lawmakers are proposing protectionist measures, such as the Biotech Investment National Security Act, which would subject licensing deals involving Chinese companies to national-security reviews. The author argues that this approach would harm the US biotech sector and instead proposes cultivating and attracting talent, publicly funding basic scientific research, and allowing US firms to take advantage of China’s cheap and high-quality chemistry and human trials.
Our Reading
The numbers tell one story.
The US biotech industry is facing a looming “patent cliff” in 2030, with medicines generating $350 billion in annual sales set to lose patent protection. To address this, US firms are increasingly turning to China’s biotech pipeline for high-quality assets. The author notes that China now accounts for nearly a third of the innovative drug candidates licensed by major pharmaceutical companies. However, some lawmakers are proposing protectionist measures, such as the Biotech Investment National Security Act, which would subject licensing deals involving Chinese companies to national-security reviews. The author argues that this approach would harm the US biotech sector and instead proposes cultivating and attracting talent, publicly funding basic scientific research, and allowing US firms to take advantage of China’s cheap and high-quality chemistry and human trials. Revolution Medicines’ experimental treatment daraxonrasib, which nearly doubled survival in pancreatic cancer patients, is cited as an example of the success of this approach.
The situation can be reframed as: “The US biotech industry is trying to outrun its own patent cliff by embracing China’s biotech pipeline, but lawmakers are trying to slow it down.”
Author: Evan Null
