Biden calls for investment in women's health

We have details on Biden’s EO to boost women’s health research, and BIO’s comments on Mexico’s biotech corn ban. (665 words, 3 minutes, 19 seconds)

Biden EO calls for investment in women’s health research

President Biden’s executive order, released yesterday, calls for $200M for research and a coordinated approach from the federal government.

The announcement: $200 million for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund new, interdisciplinary research into women’s health, and more than 20 harmonized actions by federal agencies—such as a Food and Drug Administration focus on including more women in clinical trials, the White House said.

Why it matters: Specific women’s health needs are poorly understood and poorly researched, Sheila Mikhail, leader of BIO’s Women’s Health Initiative Task Force, observed recently.

A focus on menopause: The order calls for research into the health impacts of menopause, which include increased risk of heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, and arthritis.

Other areas for study: Heart disease and other conditions have different symptoms for women; some conditions, like Alzheimer’s, are more common among women; and endometriosis, uterine cancers, and uterine fibroids are unique to women, Dr. Carolyn Mazure, head of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, noted yesterday.

BIO’s view: “For us to improve the health of women in the United States and across the world, it is critical that NIH supports research taking advantage of the scientific opportunities that advance our understanding of the biological underpinnings of women’s health,” Mikhail said during a March 7 Assessment of NIH Research on Women’s Health.

Looking ahead: Biden repeated his call in his State of the Union address for Congress to appropriate $12 billion to create an NIH Fund for Women’s Health Research.

Listen: The I am BIO Podcast explored why we need to invest in (and talk about) women’s health—listen here.

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Food and Drug Administration (FDA): FDA approves first gene therapy for children with metachromatic leukodystrophy
“This approval represents important progress in the advancement and availability of effective treatments, including gene therapies, for rare diseases,” said Nicole Verdun, M.D., Director of the Office of Therapeutic Products at the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER).

BIO backs biotech corn exports in comments to USMCA panel

BIO submitted comments to the panel that will decide whether Mexico’s ban on biotech corn violates the trade agreement between the U.S. and Mexico. (Spoiler: BIO says it does.)

The background: A Mexican presidential decree, updated in February 2023, would phase out U.S. biotech corn imports this year. The U.S. challenged the ban as unscientific and a violation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), asking a USMCA dispute panel to rule on the case.

Why it matters: Besides economic harm to Mexico and the United States, the ban would have a devastating impact on agricultural innovation needed to achieve our climate goals and ensure we can meet the world’s growing demand for food, says BIO.

“The presidential decree was not motivated based on scientific evidence, old or new,” said BIO, one of the few non-governmental organizations invited to provide input.

Inexplicable reversal: Mexico has used the same process to assess the risks of biotech products for nearly 20 years, and those rules haven’t changed, so the assessment shouldn’t change either, BIO explained.

BIO’s view: “Through biotech innovation, we are strengthening food security and meeting the climate challenge,” said Nancy Travis, BIO’s VP for International Affairs. “That critical and much-needed innovation is threatened if countries don’t even follow their own science-based regulations. U.S. food, feed and seed producers are following the rules. Mexico must do the same.”

The reality: Mexico’s imports of U.S. corn have hit daily records, and droughts in Mexico are expected to drive a record season of U.S. sales to Mexico—real-world evidence of how higher yield, drought-proofed biotech corn can enhance food security.

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President Biden’s Tuesday: A campaign trip to Nevada and Arizona, where he is expected to target Trump, including on abortion rights, per reports.

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: With a Saturday deadline for spending legislation, hearings this week focus on the budget, including tomorrow’s House Appropriations Committee and House Ways and Means Committee hearings featuring Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra. On Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee and House Budget Committee will also hold budget hearings.