BIO Applauds President Obama’s Stated National Priorities
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Wednesday, February 25, 2009) - The following statement was issued today by Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) President and CEO Jim Greenwood following the address President Obama delivered to Congress and the nation last night:
“The biotechnology community applauds and shares many of the priorities outlined by President Obama last night. We believe our industry is uniquely positioned to help achieve these goals.
“We share President Obama’s stated goal of expanding access to health care. We believe biotechnology can play a key role in this quest. Biotechnology can help bring needed innovation to modernize and add efficiencies to our nation’s health care system. Innovation in health care, including health care solutions such as new therapies and diagnostics, has always been and will continue to be central to realizing our health care goals. Further, we believe that market-based reforms provide the best opportunity to achieve the goal of universal access while providing high quality care and incentives for the discovery and development of innovative improvements throughout the health care delivery system.
“We share President Obama’s goal of developing advanced biofuels. Technological solutions provided by biotechnology are helping reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil and decrease greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to global warming. Even as we continue to refine the technologies that produce ethanol derived from corn, researchers are developing advanced technologies that will provide fuel from other renewable, green sources such as wood chips, corn husks, switch grass, and algae.
“And we share President Obama’s goal of investing in the innovation economy to help fuel our nation’s economic recovery. Biotechnology creates green, high-wage, high-value jobs. More, our industry has a high multiplier effect: The 1.3 million Americans employed in the biosciences in 2006 (the latest year for which data is currently available), for example, helped to create an additional 6.2 million jobs, for business services, contractors and other vendors.
“We look forward to working with President Obama and the Congress to develop policies that enable us to reach these shared goals while preserving the incentives that lead to continued innovation.”
Upcoming BIO Events
BIO-Europe Spring
March 16-18, 2009
Milan, Italy
BIO IP Counsels' Committee Conference
March 25–27, 2009
Phoenix, AZ
BIO National Venture Conference
March 31–April 1,2009
Boston, MA
BIO Windhover 2009
April 13-15, 2009
New York, NY
BIO-LES Business Development Basics Course
May 15–17, 2009
Atlanta, GA
BIO-LES Advanced Business Development Course
May 15–17, 2009
Atlanta, GA
BIO Executive Presentation Workshop
May 17, 2009
Atlanta, GA
BIO Human Resources Conference
May 17-19, 2009
Atlanta, GA
2009 BIO International Convention
May 18-21, 2009
Atlanta, Ga.
BioEquity Europe
June 9-10, 2009
Munich, Germany
World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology & Bioprocessing
July 19-22, 2009
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
About BIO
BIO represents more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the world’s largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world.
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