By State Sen. Mike Woodard 

North Carolina is home to numerous healthcare companies and research institutions. The state’s biopharmaceutical industry generates about $80.2 billion worth of economic output and supports over a quarter million jobs, making its continued success critical to our state as well the larger national economy.

As co-chair of the North Carolina Legislative Life Sciences Caucus, I've seen firsthand how investment in the industry leads to remarkable advancements. In 2022 alone, North Carolina’s biopharmaceutical industry invested over $648 million in clinical trial sites and conducted over 1,100 clinical trials. That’s 1,100 chances to discover lifesaving medications, modern treatments, and brand-new cures.

For this important work to continue and these new cures to be discovered, companies must feel supported and incentivized to invest in future research and development endeavors. Policies that preserve the American patent system help with these efforts and encourage more institutions to work towards these crucial discoveries.

The Bayh-Dole Act plays a significant role in shaping U.S. intellectual property (IP) rights. It encourages building private and public partnerships, essentially, calling private companies to help provide universities with resources to fill in the gaps where necessary and get important creations off the ground.

Over the years, these private and public partnerships have proven to be very successful. From 1996-2020, the innovation ecosystem created by Bayh-Dole bolstered economic output by up to $1.9 trillion, supported 6.5 million jobs, and helped lead to more than 17,000 start-up companies.

Leaders like Congresswoman Deborah Ross understand this investment and work tirelessly to protect these partnerships and our patent system, even successfully passing the Unleashing American Innovators Act, which establishes a new satellite patent office in the Southeast region and ensures that the patent office provides outreach and support to first-time patent applicants, small businesses, and other populations that are underrepresented in the patent system.

Unfortunately, government proposals are not affecting a minor clause of this act and could jeopardize current and future American innovation.

Better known as march-in rights, these proposals intend to set prices for certain drugs or technologies by allowing the government to step in and take over the patents and relicense them. Undermining these IP rights will ultimately discourage companies from investing in the development of new versions of drugs as well as research into new treatments and cures.

As a country, we pride ourselves on high standards of IP rights, which motivates companies to innovate and invest in the future.

If we want companies to continue pursuing new research and developing advanced medications, we need to provide them with an environment that supports their efforts because it ultimately supports North Carolina patients.

On behalf of these patients, who rely on new healthcare developments to bring them hope as they fight against chronic disease, we thank our leaders like Representative Ross who continue to support IP protection and voice their opposition to march-in rights.

March-in rights will not only be detrimental to the future of healthcare, but it will be devastating to North Carolina’s flourishing economy. We must stand against these proposals today to protect our future.

State Senator Mike Woodard (D-Durham) represents the 22nd District.