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Center for Life Sciences Innovation

Center for Life Sciences Innovation

ITIF’s Center for Life Sciences Innovation advocates for accelerating biopharmaceutical innovation by recognizing that the public and private sectors both have essential roles to play. The Center’s mission is to study and advance the many technology, economic, and policy factors underpinning successful life sciences innovation—from how new technologies like artificial intelligence, genomics, and gene editing are powering the next generation of biomedical innovation to the economics of life sciences innovation, including the role of IP and incentives therein; international competitiveness in life sciences innovation; and foremost the optimal set of public policies, at home and abroad, to spur greater levels of much-needed biopharmaceutical innovation. (Read more.)

  • Call for proposals: ITIF will offer grants for new research that helps to inform the relationship between the expectation of a financial reward for an approved new drug or new indication in the United States and the (1) investment in research and development for new and existing drugs, and/or (2) the approval of new drugs and new indications. Learn more about how to submit a proposal.
  • Featured series: Innovate4Health is a joint project of ITIF and the University of Akron IP Center (UAIP), spotlighting innovators from around the world who have leveraged IP systems to bring their life-saving innovations to market.
  • Stay up to date by signing up for ITIF’s weekly email and checking the box to get information about “Life Sciences.”

Featured Publications

The Relationship Between Biopharma R&D Investment and Expected Returns: Improving Evidence to Inform Policy

The Relationship Between Biopharma R&D Investment and Expected Returns: Improving Evidence to Inform Policy

Better evidence is needed to evaluate the impact of policy changes on new drug development. Greater availability of government data should support more rigorous evaluations to inform evidence-based policymaking.

LATAM Health Champions, 2024

LATAM Health Champions, 2024

Innovation plays a critical role in improving public health and in overcoming global health challenges. The call for LATAM Health Champions, which ran from February 5 to March 5, 2024, received more than 60 applications proposing innovative health solutions to a wide range of health challenges. Here, the top 20 are highlighted.

Not Again: Why the United States Can’t Afford to Lose Its Biopharma Industry

Not Again: Why the United States Can’t Afford to Lose Its Biopharma Industry

America’s leadership in advanced-technology industries can never be taken for granted, as evidenced by its losses in telecommunications equipment, semiconductors, televisions, solar panels, and chemicals. Policymakers must recognize what went wrong in those cases to avoid a similar industrial decline in the biopharmaceutical industry.

How Skeptics Misconstrue the Link Between Drug Prices and Innovation

How Skeptics Misconstrue the Link Between Drug Prices and Innovation

A recent article in the British Medical Journal contends “high drug prices” are neither necessary nor justified to sustain biopharmaceutical innovation. But it misrepresents and misinterprets the facts, highlighting how faulty the rationale is for drug price controls.

Preserving US Biopharma Leadership: Why Small, Research-Intensive Firms Matter in the US Innovation Ecosystem

Preserving US Biopharma Leadership: Why Small, Research-Intensive Firms Matter in the US Innovation Ecosystem

America is home to 85 percent of the world’s small, research-intensive biopharma firms. These start-ups are critical to drug development and U.S. competitiveness. Congress should make targeted changes to tax policy to incentivize them and maintain U.S. biopharma leadership.

More Publications

Events

March 5, 2024

Preserving U.S. Leadership in Biopharmaceutical Innovation

Watch now for an expert panel discussion surrounding the ITIF report examining why the United States lost its lead in other advanced technology industries, and how policymakers can avoid repeating the same mistakes in the biopharmaceutical sector.

April 4, 2023

Lessons From the Rise and Fall of Japan’s Life-Sciences Innovation Ecosystem

Tune in for an expert panel discussion examining where Japan faltered in this sector, what it must do to restore its life-sciences innovation leadership and competitiveness, why that would be in the best interests of both Japan and the United States—and what America must do to avoid following in Japan’s footsteps.

March 24, 2023

Preserving a Virtuous Cycle: The Economics of Biopharmaceutical Innovation

Watch the release event of a new report that examines the dynamics that underpin the economics of biopharmaceutical innovation and how to maintain a supportive environment that keeps the United States in the lead of life-sciences innovation.

March 29, 2022

How Using March-in Rights Would Threaten America’s Research Universities

ITIF hosted a panel discussion with leading experts on innovation policy, technology transfer, and business, who spoke to the practical implications of exercising federal “march-in” rights and why it would be a grave and ill-timed mistake for the U.S. health, competitiveness, and research landscape.

April 29, 2021

How Intellectual Property Has Played a Pivotal Role in the Global COVID-19 Response

ITIF hosted an expert panel discussion about the report and the vital role IP has played throughout the pandemic.

More Events

Sandra Barbosu
Sandra Barbosu

Senior Policy Manager

Read Bio
Stephen Ezell
Stephen Ezell

Vice President, Global Innovation Policy, and Director, Center for Life Sciences Innovation

Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

Read Bio

Bill Andresen
Bill Andresen

Associate Vice President for Federal Affairs

University of Pennsylvania

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David Beier
David Beier

Managing Director

Bay City Capital

Read Bio
Andrei Iancu
Andrei Iancu

Partner

Irell & Manella, LLP

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Frank R. Lichtenberg
Frank R. Lichtenberg

Cain Brothers & Company Professor of Healthcare Management in the Faculty of Business

Columbia University Graduate School of Business

Read Bio
Catherine Marinac
Catherine Marinac

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Harvard Medical School

Read Bio
Gary Puckrein
Gary Puckrein

Founding President and CEO

National Minority Quality Forum

Read Bio

More From the Center

October 4, 2024|Blogs

Draghi Wants to Have His Drug Cake and Eat It Too

Mario Draghi's 2024 report addresses the EU's biopharmaceutical decline, citing challenges like underfunded research, fragmented pricing, and competition from the U.S. and China. It recommends reforms but underplays the impact of EU drug price controls on innovation.

October 3, 2024|Publications

Call for Grant Proposals on Drug Development and the Expectation of a Financial Return: Developing Better Evidence to Inform Biopharmaceutical Policy and Regulation

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation will offer grants for new research that helps to inform the relationship between the expectation of a financial reward for an approved new drug or new indication in the United States and the (1) investment in research and development for new and existing drugs, and/or (2) the approval of new drugs and new indications.

September 19, 2024|Blogs

Beyond What Meets the Eye: How SELENA+ is Revolutionizing the Detection of Eye Diseases

Selena is transforming eye care by leveraging AI to detect diseases like diabetic retinopathy with unprecedented accuracy, helping to diagnose issues early and prevent blindness, thus improving patient outcomes and offering more access globally.

August 28, 2024|Blogs

Alzheimer’s Disease Next Game Changer: TauRx Pharmaceutical’s Novel Tau Aggregation Inhibitor

TauRx is revolutionizing Alzheimer's treatment with a novel drug that targets toxic brain proteins, offering fresh hope in the fight against this devastating disease.

August 16, 2024|Blogs

Innovative Cure For All: How CurASeal’s Plant-Based Technology Advances Bleeding Control and Wound Healing

InCurA is revolutionizing MENA's medical landscape with AI-optimized, locally produced hemostatic solutions like CurASeal, bridging the gap between innovation and accessibility while reducing reliance on global imports.

July 30, 2024|Reports & Briefings

How Innovative Is China in Biotechnology?

China used to be considered a laggard in biotech. But with a comprehensive national strategy and extensive resources now supporting the industry, it is becoming more innovative. In fact, several indicators suggest it is narrowing the innovation gap with global leaders in the West.

June 7, 2024|Blogs

Mexico, Maize, and Food Sovereignty

Mexico's newly elected president, Claudia Sheinbaum, can reverse President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's anti-innovation policies toward genetically modified maize, and improve the lives of small farmers across Mexico.

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