Bayh-Dole 40 is a new coalition of supporters of the landmark legislation concerning technology transfer—the Bayh-Dole Act. The Bayh-Dole 40 has an attractive website with information concerning the history of the Act and its impact. The press release states:
Today, a diverse group of research and scientific
organizations, as well as those directly involved in commercializing new
products, launched Bayh-Dole 40, a coalition that will celebrate and protect
the University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act of 1980, better known
as the “Bayh-Dole Act.”
The Bayh-Dole Act has empowered universities, small
businesses, and nonprofits that have received federal grants to retain
ownership of any patented inventions — and license those patents to private
firms, who then turn promising ideas into real-life products that improve
peoples’ lives. Thanks to Bayh-Dole, the public and private sectors have worked
together to translate basic scientific research into life-saving drugs and
medical devices, internet and GPS technologies, rechargeable lithium-ion
batteries, and countless other innovations.
“Bayh-Dole made the United States the engine of global
innovation,” said Bayh-Dole 40 founder and executive director Joseph Allen, who
helped enact the law as a member of Senator Birch Bayh’s U.S. Senate Judiciary
staff. “The Act reinvigorated research and development in America, spawning
breakthrough discoveries ranging from high-yield crops to advanced medicines.”
Thanks to Bayh-Dole, over 200 new therapies — including drugs
and vaccines — have been created since 1980. The legislation has also bolstered
U.S. economic output by $1.3 trillion, supported 4.2 million jobs, and led to
more than 11,000 start-up companies.
Bayh-Dole 40’s founding members include AUTM, Biotechnology
Innovation Organization, BioHealth Innovation, Council on Governmental
Relations, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Licensing
Executives Society, and PhRMA, spanning the entire U.S. innovation ecosystem.
The coalition will educate lawmakers to ensure the Act is utilized in the way
Senators Birch Bayh and Bob Dole envisioned.
“Misusing Bayh-Dole to undermine the existing framework for
public-private technology transfer and development, as some lawmakers are
suggesting, would jeopardize the future of U.S. life-sciences innovation,” said
Stephen Ezell, Vice President of Global Innovation Policy at the Information
Technology and Innovation Foundation. “We look forward to engaging Congress on
these issues to ensure the United States remains a life-sciences R&D
powerhouse.”
About Bayh-Dole 40: Bayh-Dole 40 is a coalition of
research and scientific organizations, as well as those directly involved in
commercializing new products, dedicated to celebrating and protecting the
University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act of 1980, better known as
the “Bayh-Dole Act.” The coalition was formed to educate policymakers about
Bayh-Dole’s positive impact on medical innovation and defend the Act against
imminent threats during its 40th anniversary year.
Bayh-Dole 40’s members include the Association of University
Research Parks, AUTM, BIOCOM, BioHealth Innovation, Biotechnology Innovation
Organization, California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), Columbia Technology
Ventures (CTV), Council on Competitiveness, Council on Governmental Relations,
Fuentek, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, IPWatchdog, Lehigh
University Office of Economic Engagement, Licensing Executives Society (LES),
Licensing Executives Society (LES) Silicon Valley Chapter, National Venture
Capital Association, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America,
Pristine Surgical, STC.UNM, the IDEA Center at the University of Notre Dame,
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, and the Yale Office of Cooperative
Research.
It is interesting that the existence of the coalition is necessary to protect the Bayh-Dole Act. There is some polling to support that U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders could defeat President Trump in an election, but I wonder if anyone really believes that polling (besides Sanders supporters) after the results of the last Presidential election. Maybe the concern will be what happens in the election after this one.