WASHINGTON, July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Jim Greenwood, President and CEO of
the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), issued the following
statement praising members of the Senate Small Business and
Entrepreneurship Committee for supporting legislation that would restore
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant eligibility to small
biotech companies that are majority backed by private investment.
"I commend members of the committee for supporting this important
legislation and thank Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) for his leadership in
offering the amendment to the Small Business Administration reauthorization
bill. I also want to express my appreciation to the other members of the
Committee, particularly Chairman Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Senators Mike
Enzi (R-WY) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) for their important contributions to
achieve the compromise language included in the Bond amendment.
"For more than 20 years, small biotech and medical device companies
qualified for SBIR grants. The arbitrary 2003 change in eligibility
standards inequitably penalized biotech firms and has delayed -- in some
cases even prevented -- lifesaving drugs and life-enhancing medical
innovations from reaching patients and consumers.
"Presently, companies that are 51 percent owned by a group of venture
capital firms are not eligible for SBIR grants. Most small and emerging
biotechnology companies, which are years away from revenue-generating
products, must look to the venture capital community for investments to
fund the very high-cost preclinical and clinical research. Prior to the new
interpretation, these companies used SBIR grants to validate the potential
of their research as they raised critical start-up investment funds.
"This amendment restores the original interpretation of eligibility by
allowing more biotech and medical device companies to again compete for
funding -- albeit limited -- to conduct research on innovative new medical
therapies, providing promise and hope for millions of patients and their
families.
"Over 325 million patients have been helped by one or more of the 200
biotech drugs and vaccines already on the market."
BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic
institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across
the United States and 31 other nations. BIO members are involved in the
research and development of healthcare, agricultural, industrial and
environmental biotechnology products.
SOURCE Biotechnology Industry Organization
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Related links:
http://www.bio.org
CONTACT:
Stephanie Fischer of Biotechnology Industry
Organization, +1-202-312-9263
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