Richard Gephardt and the Council for American Medical Innovation Discuss Incentives Necessary to Protect America's Greatest Innovators at Capitol Hill Briefing

Richard Gephardt and the Council for American Medical Innovation Discuss
Incentives Necessary to Protect America's Greatest Innovators at Capitol Hill
Briefing

"Incentives for American Medical Innovation: Protecting America's Greatest
Innovators," is the Third in a Series of Briefings About Achieving "Recovery
Through Discovery"

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Political leaders and experts
from health policy, pharmaceutical, and venture capitalist communities
gathered this morning on Capitol Hill to discuss policies and incentives
needed to protect and ensure continued U.S. leadership in science and
discovery. The briefing, titled Incentives for American Medical Innovation:
Protecting America's Greatest Innovators, was sponsored by the Council for
American Medical Innovation and was the third in a three-part series, Recovery
Through Discovery, which has examined medical innovation as a driver of U.S.
economic recovery and enhanced global leadership in science.

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Participants in today's briefing discussed the current U.S. environment
supporting innovation, including intellectual property protections, regulatory
infrastructure, and tax incentives for medical innovation industries.

"The future of medical innovation in the U.S. is directly tied to our ability
to encourage American businesses to invest in science and technology, and take
important risks," said Former Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt, chairman of
the Council for American Medical Innovation, who moderated the discussion.
"American innovators face some significant barriers to success right now -
including a lack of adequate capital to see their ideas through from start to
finish; a prolonged and expensive regulatory pathway for new medicines,
biologics and devices; and a lack of adequate incentives to enter the market
and compete. The key to U.S. economic recovery and jobs, as well as promoting
the health of our citizens, is innovation, and we must not only invest more
resources here, but also create a legal and regulatory environment that
includes strong incentives and allows medical innovation to thrive."

American businesses are operating in a globally competitive economy in which
they must innovate to succeed. Other nations - from Singapore to Sweden - have
made innovation a priority and, while America is still the world leader, these
countries are advancing quickly.

The Council for American Medical Innovation came together this year; its
members share a common goal of adopting and promoting a national policy agenda
aimed at preserving U.S. leadership in medical innovation. The Council is
advocating for policy improvements that will, among other goals, increase
incentives for investment in research, development and its application, and
increase activity and investment in the life sciences -- including:

-- Fostering a legal and regulatory environment that protects
intellectual
property while encouraging collaboration.
-- Expanding appropriate tax policies to ensure that medical innovation
industries continue to innovate in America.
-- Ensuring the strength of capital markets which are crucial for small
companies to gain access to financing for continued innovation.

-- Supporting regulatory reforms that can improve the process of
developing
and approving safe and effective drugs, biologics, medical devices and
diagnostics.

Participants on this morning's panel discussed the need to reduce unnecessary
litigation and red tape, streamline regulatory processes, strengthen patent
protections, and focus incentives on rewarding success in research and
development. Participants in the forum included:

-- Marc Boutin, J.D., Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of
the
National Health Council
-- The Honorable Edward Markey, U.S. Representative (D-MA) (invited)
-- Greg Simon, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Policy, Pfizer Inc.

-- Kelly Slone, Director of Federal Life Science Policy, National Venture
Capital Association

"It is increasingly important to America's health and economy that the U.S.
maintain its role as a leader in scientific and technological innovation,"
said Debra Lappin, president of the Council for American Medical Innovation,
who offered welcoming remarks. "The world economy is becoming more focused on
innovation, and countries that create infrastructures that support medical
research and its application will succeed and flourish. By removing barriers
to medical innovation and implementing incentives to encourage its growth, we
can help strengthen the U.S. economy, provide good jobs, and improve public
health."

Video of the event will be made available at:
www.americanmedicalinnovation.org. The Council has also hosted two other
briefings on Capitol Hill in the past month, including "Translational
Research: From Bench to Bedside" and "Education and Immigration - The Building
Blocks of Innovation." Video and recaps from these briefings are also
available to view on the web site.

About the Council for American Medical Innovation
The United States faces serious challenges to maintaining its leadership
position in 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.

For more information on the Council for American Medical Innovation, visit
www.americanmedicalinnovation.org.

Follow us on Twitter @Med_Innovation.

SOURCE Council for American Medical Innovation

Laura Lowery, +1-206-799-5604, llowery@apcoworldwide.com, for Council for
American Medical Innovation