The Economist: Patently Absurd

The Economist recently published an interesting opinion article on the impact of innovation on the economy — specifically the negative impact of patent backlogs on business (particularly small entrepreneurial business).

Patently Absurd

INNOVATION and jobs have become a modern version of motherhood and apple pie in Washington, DC. Everyone in America’s capital wants lots more of both, or so they say. So how come Congress and the White House have decided not merely to underfund a crucial cog in American’s innovation machine but actually to take away revenue it earns? And that at a time when that cog, the Patent and Trademark Office, is already struggling to keep up with the growing demands upon it? The recent budget deal for fiscal 2011 (the year to September 30th) allows the Patent Office to spend only $2.1 billion. That is less than it expects to collect in fees from applicants—$100m or so will disappear instead into Treasury coffers—and far less than it needs to do its job properly.

Asthma rates climb in US for children, adults

An article from today’s Wall Street Journal highlights the results of a new CDC study, which reports a 12.3% increase in the prevalence of asthma in the United States from 2001-2009.   Asthma, a chronic respiratory disease, affected 8.2% of all U.S. residents in 2009 (24.6 million), up from 7.3% in 2001.

The CDC estimated that asthma costs grew to about $56 billion in 2007 from about $53 billion in 2002. The costs include medical expenses and lost productivity from missed work or school days.

US and Russia partner to eradicate polio around the world

Today, the U.S. government and the government of the Russian Federation, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation (MOHSD), signed a Protocol of Intent on Cooperation for the Global Eradication of Polio.

The Promise of American Medical Innovation

Ahead of its symposium Wednesday (Medical Innovation at the Crossroads:  Choosing the Path Ahead), the Council for American Medical Innovation released a Web video on the impact of medical innovation on American life and its potential (as reported by POLITICO Pulse).  The symposium includes U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, former HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt, PhRMA’s John Castellani and Cleveland Clinic’s Chris Coburn, among others.

PULSE caught up with Aneesh Chopra, Obama’s chief technology officer, who headlines the event, to give us a preview of his Wednesday remarks: “I’m going to make the case that this is the best time and opportunity to work on health care innovation. Between health reform and the recovery act, the conditions, I believe, are ripe for innovation and improvement.”

US Bill proposes to strengthen drug safety laws

Leaders of four committees in the US House of Representatives have introduced a bill — Drug Safety Enhancement Act (Bill HR 6543) — which would upgrade America’s prescription drug safety laws.  This Bill proposes to equip the FDA with the authorities and resources it needs to adequately regulate the growing global marketplace for drugs.

HR 6543 would:

• create an up-to-date registry of all drug facilities, both foreign and domestic, serving US consumers;
• generate funding for increased Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) inspections for brand and generic drugs;
• require parity between foreign and domestic inspections;
• prohibit entry of drugs coming from domestic and foreign facilities that limit, delay or deny FDA inspections;
• prohibit the entry of drugs into the US lacking documentation of safety;
• require manufacturers to know their supply chain, identify and mitigate risk throughout the chain, and to document measures taken to secure their supply chain;
• prohibit false or misleading reports to FDA;
• provide strong new enforcement tools, including mandatory recall authority, increased civil and criminal penalties and new FDA authority to subpoena records related to possible violations;
• provide protection for whistleblowers who bring attention to important safety information; and
• require unique identification numbers for drug establishments and importers to improve the FDA’s ability to identify parties involved in a crisis situation more quickly.

In 2009, there were a record 1,742 drug recalls in the US – a fourfold increase from the prior year – and the vast majority were related to manufacturing quality and testing.  Up to 80% of the active ingredients in US drugs are now made overseas, many in countries where regulatory oversight does not meet U.S. standards.

Source:  PharmaTimes.

 

Opinion: Knowledge-based jobs for health, wealth and security

The following opinion editorial on the future of knowledge-based economies was published by The Cameron Institute and raises some interesting thoughts in terms of how innovation can fuel economic growth while also helping improve patient outcomes and society as a whole.

What do miracle blood clot-busters, cold water detergents, chlorine-free coffee filters, lighter-weight motor vehicles, vaccines, disease-resistant shrimp, and bio-degradable plastics all have in common?  They are all products of knowledge-based industries.

Knowledge-based jobs are transforming the North American economy and society.  Increasingly, economies are measured by the contribution of knowledge to the gross domestic product; economic growth is being driven by innovation.

During the first decade of the 21^st century in Canada, 2.25 million jobs went to persons with postsecondary education and 139,000 jobs went to those with only high school.  On the other hand, almost a million individuals with primary or little education lost their jobs in the same period.

A similar situation exists in the United States where there is projected to be a 57% decline in employment in the textile industry between 2008 and 2018, 34% in electronics manufacturing, and 25% in newspaper printing.  Meanwhile jobs will grow in science and technology, healthcare, and information technology.

Many countries are aggressively investing to build their knowledge-based economies.  Jurisdictions that are successfully building knowledge-based economies have created fiscal, investment and regulatory environments in which firms can flourish.  They have not attempted to “choose winners” or save those “too big to fail” as in North America; rather, European and other foreign governments have removed the tax, regulatory and other punitive measures from innovative industries and let market forces populate their economies with high-value companies and jobs.

High wage, high-tax countries such as France, Germany and the United Kingdom, as well as low-wage, low-tax countries such as China and South Korea have all invested heavily in innovation.  Brazil, Ireland and Singapore – mid-income nations – have earmarked billions of dollars for knowledge-based jobs.  Australia leads the world in public expenditure on R&D as a percentage of gross expenditure.

Yet only five U.S. states have made a significant foray into building knowledge-based employment (California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Washington) with Ontario being the only Canadian province that has even come close.

Innovation-based companies, once their products have been commercialized, have shown to produce a tax recovery ratio, over a decade, of $8.00 for every $1.00 invested.  For every direct job created, 4.5 indirect and induced jobs are created.  (This is compared to the multiplier effect of 1 for government spending and government jobs.)

CDC estimates 1 in 3 adults could have diabetes by 2050

As many as 1 in 3 U.S. adults could have diabetes by 2050 if current trends continue, according to a new analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

One in 10 U.S. adults has diabetes now. The prevalence is expected to rise sharply over the next 40 years due to an aging population more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, increases in minority groups that are at high risk for type 2 diabetes, and people with diabetes living longer, according to CDC projections published in the journal Population Health Metrics.

Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in 2007, and is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults under age 75, kidney failure, and non-accident/injury leg and foot amputations among adults. People with diagnosed diabetes have medical costs that are more than twice that of those without the disease. The total costs of diabetes are an estimated $174 billion annually, including $116 billion in direct medical costs.

Proper diet and physical activity can reduce the risk of diabetes and help to control the condition in people with diabetes. Effective prevention programs directed at groups at high risk of type 2 diabetes can considerably reduce future increases in diabetes prevalence, but will not eliminate them, the report says.

The projection that one-third of all U.S. adults will have diabetes by 2050 assumes that recent increases in new cases of diabetes will continue and people with diabetes will also live longer, which adds to the total number of people with the disease.

An estimated 285 million people worldwide had diabetes in 2010, according to the International Diabetes Federation. The federation predicts as many as 438 million will have diabetes by 2030.

US releases IP enforcement strategy

Today, Vice President Joe Biden and Victoria Espinel, Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, released the U.S. government’s official IP enforcement strategy.  The plan — developed following extensive public consultation — identifies 33 key action items to combat intellectual property infringement, both domestically and internationally.

Download the PDF to read the complete 2010 Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement.

The following are highlights from Vice President Joe Biden’s remarks, delivered today at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building:

Whether we’re talking about fake drugs that hurt instead of help the patient or knockoff car tires that fall apart at 65 miles an hour causing injury and death, counterfeits kill — counterfeits kill.  There’s a reason why they counterfeit, they don’t know how to do it in the first place.

But to state it very bluntly and obviously, piracy hurts.  It hurts our economy to the tune of billions — some argue tens of billions of dollars — in lost private sector profit and government revenue.  It hurts our health and safety, the health and safety — that’s why the FDA commissioner is here, in part.

Piracy is theft, clean and simple.  It’s nothing but theft.

Global Health Spending Comparisons – Public vs. Private

It is well know that significant disparities exist in the amount of health spending between countries around the world.  What is less well known is that there are similar disparities when it comes to the source of health funding — public vs. private.

The following graph (from the latest issue of Global Health Magazine) highlights the variation that exists between public and private health funding.  For example, there’s a %40 difference between the amount of public health funding in the U.S. (59.2%) and India (19.6%).  Countries lacking reasonable public contributions to health financing (proportionally and in concrete amounts) will face serious challenges in developing sustainable health systems.

Chart data sourced from Health Systems 20/20, Health Systems Database.

The economic impact of IP infringement: a report from the U.S. GAO

The United States Government Accountability Office recently released a report on efforts to quantify the effects of counterfeit goods (Intellectual property:  observations on efforts to quantify the effects of counterfeit and pirated goods).

Intellectual property is an important component of the U.S. economy, however the report noted that the illicit nature of counterfeiting and piracy makes estimating the economic impact of IP infringements extremely difficult.

The report covered a wide range of industries, but of particular interest to patients is the information on counterfeit medicines.  Between 2004 and 2009, counterfeit pharmaceuticals accounted for 5% of all goods seized by Customs and Border Protection.  In 2009, 91 percent of the counterfeit goods from India were pharmaceuticals and perfume.