Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • Home
    • About Us
    • Digital Subscription
    • Advertisement
    • Contact Us
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Advertise With Us
    • Home
      • COVID-19 Resource Center
        • Dr. Henry Louis Gates’ PSA Radio
      • Featured
    • News
      • State
      • Local
      • National/International News
      • Global
      • Business
        • Commentary
        • Finance
        • Local Business
      • Investigative Stories
        • Affordable Housing
        • DCS Investigation
        • Gentrification
    • Editorial
      • National Politics
      • Local News
      • Local Editorial
      • Political Editorial
      • Editorial Cartoons
      • Cycle of Shame
    • Community
      • History
      • Tennessee
        • Chattanooga
        • Clarksville
        • Knoxville
        • Memphis
      • Public Notices
      • Women
        • Let’s Talk with Ms. June
    • Education
      • College
        • American Baptist College
        • Belmont University
        • Fisk
        • HBCU
        • Meharry
        • MTSU
        • University of Tennessee
        • TSU
        • Vanderbilt
      • Elementary
      • High School
    • Lifestyle
      • Art
      • Auto
      • Tribune Travel
      • Entertainment
        • 5 Questions With
        • Books
        • Events
        • Film Review
        • Local Entertainment
      • Family
      • Food
        • Drinks
      • Health & Wellness
      • Home & Garden
      • Featured Books
    • Religion
      • National Religion
      • Local Religion
      • Obituaries
        • National Obituaries
        • Local Obituaries
      • Faith Commentary
    • Sports
      • MLB
        • Sounds
      • NBA
      • NCAA
      • NFL
        • Predators
        • Titans
      • NHL
      • Other Sports
      • Golf
      • Professional Sports
      • Sports Commentary
      • Metro Sports
    • Media
      • Video
      • Photo Galleries
      • Take 10
      • Trending With The Tribune
    • Classified
    • Obituaries
      • Local Obituaries
      • National Obituaries
    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Politics

    Don’t Sacrifice American Innovation On The Altar Of “March-In”

    Article submittedBy Article submittedMarch 18, 2022No Comments3 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram Pinterest Tumblr Reddit Email
    President Joe Biden participates in a briefing about the response to damage caused by Hurricane Ida, at the St. John Parish Emergency Operations Center, Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, in LaPlace, La. Photo by Evan Vucci/AP
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    By Niels Reimers

    A DC-based advocacy group has just petitioned the government to seize the patent covering the prostate cancer drug Xtandi so generic manufacturers can copy the medication.

    The group behind this petition has issued similar calls in the past. But both Democratic and Republican administrations have rejected such petitions on the grounds that they misconstrue current law, as the current administration should likewise recognize.

    The government contributed approximately $500,000 to research at UCLA that served as the foundation for Xtandi. The university’s findings were eventually licensed by Astellas — which, after more than $1.4 billion of investments and years of research and development, created the medication.

    Since the government funded early-stage research underpinning Xtandi, the petitioners argue, federal officials should forcefully lower its price by licensing the medication to generic manufacturers. Of course, that’s not warranted by the law that took the medication from bench to bedside: the Bayh-Dole Act.

    Prior to 1980, America had an innovation problem. The government funded basic research at university and non-profit labs and retained the patents resulting from the research. Inventors had no incentive to move their discoveries from the laboratory into the marketplace. It was up to the government to license these patents for commercial development.

    The process was a mess. Twenty-six different licensing policies governed the federal agencies funding research.The government often offered only non-exclusive licenses. Private companies were loath to invest their time and money in such a dysfunctional system.

    As a result, fewer than 5% of federally funded discoveries were licensed for commercial development. More than 28,000 taxpayer-funded insights languished. Not a single new drug was developed from federally funded R&D.

    The Bayh-Dole Act broke that gridlock by allowing university research labs to retain their patents and license them to private firms in exchange for royalties.

    The result opened a floodgate of American innovation. The law has helped grow the U.S. economy by up to $1.7 trillion. Over the past 25 years, U.S. universities and research institutions have been granted more than 80,000 patents, and some 70% of university innovations have been licensed to small companies.

    The Bayh-Dole Act contains a “march-in” clause, which allows the government to require the patent owner to license additional companies if efforts are not being made to develop the technology.

    Some organizations have long sought to use the government’s march-in authority as a mechanism to impose price controls, especially on pharmaceuticals. Administrations since have rejected all such petitions. The Obama-Biden Administration dismissed more of these off-base petitions than any other.

    This petition grossly distorts the Bayh-Dole Act. If it were adopted, innovators would know that anyone could ask the government to “march in” to allow copiers to undercut them in the marketplace.

    No one would make investments under such conditions. Once again, taxpayer-funded discoveries — like the one that led to the prostate cancer drug the petition concerns — would languish in labs.

    Protecting innovation isn’t a partisan issue. The Biden administration can prevent a catastrophic drop in private-sector research and development investment by rejecting this latest march-in petition.

    Niels Reimers is the founder and former executive director of Stanford University’s Office of Technology Licensing. This piece originally ran in the San Jose Mercury News.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Article submitted

    Related Posts

    The many ugly polls on Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’

    June 30, 2025

    NAACP Decision Deserves High Praise

    June 24, 2025

    From Opportunity To Abandonment: The Cruelty Of Ending Job Corps

    June 12, 2025

    Sen. Campbell marks disclosure of GOP’s ‘billion-dollar refund scheme’

    May 31, 2025

    Don’t let Trump sell off our public lands to Big Oil!

    May 21, 2025

    Trump Administration Moves to Eliminate Habeas Corpus

    May 21, 2025

    Comments are closed.

    Business

    Charlotte Knight Griffin Takes Office as TBA President-Elect

    June 30, 2025

    EXCLUSIVE OP-ED: President Joe Biden Commemorating Juneteenth

    June 19, 2025

    FUNdraising Good Times Report from Neighborhoods USA Conference in Jacksonville

    June 4, 2025
    1 2 3 … 384 Next
    Education
    Featured

    Fisk University Welcomes Antonio Barrino to Lead Band Program and Expand Music Education

    By adminJuly 7, 2025

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Fisk University proudly announces the appointment of Antonio Barrino to the Department of…

    Austin Peay’s MPH program receives $27K for childhood literacy initiative. Community LIFT Project to be implemented at Head Start centers this fall

    June 30, 2025

    TSU, State, reach agreement to reallocate $96M to school

    June 26, 2025

    TSU student lands prestigious internship at Harvard Medical School

    June 25, 2025
    The Tennessee Tribune
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • About Us
    • Digital Subscription
    • Store
    • Advertise With Us
    • Contact
    © 2025 The Tennessee Tribune - Site Designed by No Regret Media.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Our Spring Sale Has Started

    You can see how this popup was set up in our step-by-step guide: https://wppopupmaker.com/guides/auto-opening-announcement-popups/