Good Day BIO: DEI in biotech, by the numbers

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Tomorrow is Juneteenth National Independence Day, a federal holiday marking the end of slavery in the United States—and an important reminder of the work still needed to be done on diversity, equity, and inclusion in our industry and nation.

ICYMI: President Biden and VP Harris signed the bill establishing Juneteenth National Independence Day as a federal holiday—and BIO applauded the action.

Also yesterday: BIO published the second-annual survey on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the biotech industry,Measuring Diversity in the Biotech Industry: Advancing Equity and Inclusion. Published in partnership with Coqual, the survey features the views of BIO member companies. 

The report shows clear progress in biotech firms’ commitments to DEI:

• 7 in 10 companies list diversity and inclusion as one of their organization’s values or priorities, up from 46% in 2019.
• In 2020, 36% of firms increased their women employees by at least 5% from 2019 to 2020.
• The proportion of organizations that have a stated goal of creating an inclusive environment has nearly doubled—from 32% in 2019 to 61% in 2020.
• 56% of organizations have made a public commitment to diversity, a notable increase from just 39% last year.

However, there’s still a lot of room for improvement…

• Women make up 47% of total employees—but just 31% of executive teams and 23% of CEOs.
• Employees of color make up only 32% of the overall workforce, 21% of executive teams, and 24% of CEOs.
• From 2019 to 2020, 1 in 5 companies decreased their representation of employees of color at the executive level by at least 5%. Just 13% increased executives of color by at least 5%.

What can we do? The report provides a number of recommendations, ranging from collecting employee data and tracking improvements and work to be done, to committing to and implementing pay equity and sponsorship programs.  

“You have two hands in a corporate ladder—one to pull up and one to pull somebody else up behind you,” said Todd Sears, Founder of Out Leadership, during a session on growing LGBTQ leadership in biotech. (BIO is the first advocacy association member of Out Leadership.) 

The bottom line: “You will have a better, stronger company that makes better decisions if you have diversity,” said Dr. Ted Love, President and CEO of Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT), during a session on the launch of the report.

Learn more about the BIOEquality Agenda and BIO’s commitment to opposing injustice in underserved communities and counteracting systemic inequity. 

A few more things you might have missed…

Biogen has started the “confirmatory study” of its just-approved Alzheimer’s drug. “We aim to deliver more evidence as soon as we can,” said Biogen CEO Michel Vounatsos. “We want this launch to be as equitable as possible,” he added, describing how they are working with CVS pharmacies and charitable clinics to reach vulnerable patients. “The sustainability of the system is critical.”  

There’s a “myth that people of color don’t want to participate in clinical trials,” said Quita Highsmith, VP and Chief Diversity Officer of Genentech, in a session on clinical trial equity.

“Another thing that is very exciting is the use of digital technologies as interventions,” said Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock. FDA is promoting digital treatments and technologies through its Digital Health Center of Excellence, and wants to establish a regulatory framework that is welcoming to computer-controlled systems that improve manufacturing.

Sustainability—and the links between human health, environmental health, and equity—was another focus of BIO Digital Day 4.

We need to act quickly—because our approach to climate mirrors our approach to COVID-19,said Lord David Prior, Chair of England’s National Health Service (NHS), during a plenary on supply chain sustainability.  

“Don’t wait until tomorrow or next week or next year,”agreed BIO President and CEO Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath. “Let’s all start today, this week, this month, and have the conversations. Can we do our work in a more sustainable way?”

Why? “We cannot live with the paradox of trying to save lives on one hand and on the other hand contributing to polluting the environment and eventually impacting the health of millions,” said Biogen CEO Michel Vounatsos. Biogen recently launched its Healthy Climate, Healthy Lives initiative to eliminate fossil fuels across their operations.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts joined BIO Digital to discuss one biobased solution: corn-based biofuel.As he explained, cars running on E30 could rival the sustainability of electric cars. (And kudos to the state government for its strong support of the bioeconomy in Nebraska, where 18,000 jobs are in the biosciences.)

Want to know more solutions? Read BIO's Biotech Solutions for Climate Report.

President Biden’s Friday: Yesterday, the Biden administration announced it would invest more than $3 billion in R&D for COVID-19 antivirals. Today, he’ll deliver remarks on the COVID response and vaccination program at 2 PM ET before heading to Wilmington, DE. 

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: It’s a federal holiday—enjoy the weekend.