ICYMI: Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee released legislation this week to encourage development of new therapies and cures while strengthening our medical supply chain here in the U.S.
As Ways and Means Republican Leader Kevin Brady (R-TX) said: “These bills are vital for America’s future in order to increase investment in American innovation – leading to more cures not just to COVID-19, but for any future health crisis our country may face.”
Support continues to grow for Republicans’ commitment to spur American innovation to speed up the discovery of life-saving cures. Check out what people are saying:
“It makes sense now for Congress to permanently improve the incentives for innovative infectious disease drug development. … From these perspectives, some of the ideas currently circulating make a lot of sense. There are three, interlocking ideas in particular.”
The National Venture Capital Association, TechNet, and the Center for American Entrepreneurship:
“Whether we are talking about fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, making the U.S. more competitive on the global stage, or building the country for a better tomorrow, improving the tax treatment of investment in research and growth will pay enormous dividends for our economy and help create jobs.”
“The legislation released today by Ways and Means Republicans led by Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-Texas) attempts to incentivize the development of new cures for infectious diseases by creating tax incentives that will help encourage investment, including through the expansion of the R&D credit, giving innovators additional liquidity, and encouraging further outside investment in startup innovators.
“This approach also draws a stark contrast with the policies of Congressional Democrats that would crush medical innovation. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Democrats have passed legislation that would force medical innovators to accept government set prices or be hit with a 95 percent excise tax on their medicines.”
“These bills will help provide liquidity for and encourage investment in pre-revenue companies developing treatments for COVID-19—and help the country and the world prepare to face future pandemic viruses. In addition, allowing startups to preserve their NOLs will help encourage investment in pre-revenue biotechs focused not only on fighting COVID-19, but also those working on all kinds of solutions to heal, fuel, and feed the world.”
Politico Morning Tax: Incentivizing Safety:
“Ways and Means Republicans are about to offer measures that would supply new tax breaks for drug development companies, including those that have yet to record revenues.
“The measures weren’t prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, but their supporters believe that lessons learned over the past few months make them more relevant than ever. Two bills from Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) would benefit businesses working on infectious diseases, providing research and development incentives to commercial-stage companies before they start bringing in revenue. Another bill, which would let passive investors in pre-revenue infectious disease companies use losses to offset income from other sources, comes from Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), who himself contracted Covid-19.
“A fourth bill, from Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), would free up start-up businesses from net operating loss and general business tax credit limits after an ownership change. Nunes and Kelly could drop their bills as soon as today, while Buchanan’s will likely lag by a few days.”
Inside Health Policy: W&M GOP Bills Would Incentivize Infectious Disease Drug Development:
“GOP committee members believe the incentives are needed because of the financial risks associated with developing drugs for infectious diseases… The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the need for therapeutics and vaccines to be incentivized.”
CLICK HERE to learn more about the Faster Cures through Innovation Agenda.
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