November 17, 2021

Election Day Update: Results Continue to Trickle In    As we reach the end of the statutory deadlines for votes to be counted in New Jersey, the results have become clearer for all 120 legislative seats as well as Governor Murphy’s second term. New early voting, as well as vote-by-mail systems, have expanded the amount of time it takes to count votes, so several races took more than a week for all votes to be counted.  As reported in the last Public Policy Update, Governor Murphy has won his second term with a narrow victory over former New Jersey Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli. In the New Jersey Legislature, Republicans appear to have gained six Assembly seats as well as a single Senate seat. Democrat-held seats in districts 2, 3 and 11 will be filled by Republicans when the Legislature reconvenes in January, while Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker has won the election to replace Senator Kip Bateman in LD-16, Assemblywoman Jean Stanfield defeating Senator Dawn Addiego in LD-8 and Senate President Sweeney losing his reelection contest to Edward Durr in LD-3. Legislative leadership changes are also afoot when the new session of the State Legislature convenes in January. Senator Nicholas Scutari (LD-22) has been chosen to serve as the Senate President while Senator Teresa Ruiz (LD-29) will replace retiring Senator Loretta Weinberg as Senate Majority Leader. Assemblyman Craig Coughlin will continue to serve as Speaker of the General Assembly. BioNJ is excited to work with the State Legislature in the upcoming legislative session in support of enhanced innovation and Patient access.

Legislative, Lame Duck Update The Legislature’s “lame duck” session started November 8 with S-1066, legislation creating a Prescription Drug Affordability Board with authority to set prescription treatment upper payment limits, receiving consideration from the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. BioNJ President and CEO Debbie Hart and BioNJ Chair and Insmed Chair and CEO Will Lewis were on hand to testify in opposition to the Prescription Drug Affordability Board proposal, arguing that not only would the legislation send the wrong message on investment in biopharmaceutical innovation but would not achieve the most important goal of any drug pricing proposal: provide immediate relief to Patients with high out-of-pocket costs. S-1066 has cleared the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and has been referenced to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.  BioNJ recently released a whitepaper looking to demystify some of the myths commonly used in support of Prescription Drug Affordability Board proposals. Click here to read the whitepaper and accompanying infographic. Meanwhile, Senators Steven Oroho and Paul Sarlo have reintroduced S-4127, legislation to provide for a New Jersey version of IRS Section 1202 allowing for capital gains exclusions for certain Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) held for at least five years. This key legislative proposal would enact a New Jersey incentive exempting certain QSBS capital gains from stock held over five years. BioNJ supports this important proposal, and we look forward to working with Senators Oroho and Sarlo to pass this legislation into law.

Drug Pricing, Build Back Better Update While Congress continues to clear the deck for several policy priorities, the fate of the President’s “Build Back Better” Act remains uncertain. A framework was announced for many legislative provisions, but consensus remains unclear in certain areas – including possible drug pricing provisions. BioNJ's concerns remain with the imposition of any form of price setting or controls as well as proposals that would hamper small company innovation and rare disease research and discovery. In addition, the House-proposed Build Back Better Act could significantly impact rare disease research as well as New Jersey’s small biopharmaceutical company innovators. Congressional negotiators continue working on these issues as a December 3 deadline looms for Congress to raise the statutory debt limit and extend federal fiscal year 2022 government funding.

Califf Formally Nominated to FDA Post President Joe Biden has formally nominated former U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf as the next FDA Commissioner. Dr. Califf had previously served as the confirmed FDA Commissioner during the last year of the Obama Administration. Commissioner Califf would provide the FDA with its first confirmed leader since President Biden took office in January 2021.  Click here for President Biden’s statement announcing the nomination.

Act Now to Protect Innovation   Congress is getting closer to considering drug pricing proposals that rely on innovation-stifling price controls to address Patient out-of-pocket costs. We know from other health care marketplaces that price controls inevitably lead to a decline in investment in research and development and fewer treatments for the Patients who need them the most. Now is the time to ensure policymakers understand the ramifications of these policies on Patient access to groundbreaking therapies and New Jersey’s vibrant biopharmaceutical ecosystem. Click here for BioNJ’s alert on this important issue.

We Need Your Help: Support BioNJ Policy and Advocacy Efforts BioNJ is the voice of New Jersey’s life sciences sector in Trenton and Washington. BioNJ’s Public Policy Support Series sponsorship opportunities are available for 2021 and 2022. Sponsorship opportunities help make sure that our message is delivered in both Trenton and Washington, D.C. Help ensure BioNJ continues to deliver our message of improved Patient access and enhanced innovation through a Public Policy Support Series Sponsorship.    More information is available here.

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