This reports on a recent survey conducted by BIO of 170 biotech "industry leaders" and another 800 of our fellow citizens who are registered voters concerning the state of the biotech industry and some attitudes toward it.
PharmTech Talk » LIVE from BIO 2012: Capital and Tax Policies Burden Biotech, but Optimism Remains.
When the survey was conducted 5 years ago, 79% of industry leaders said they were "optimistic" about biotech's prospects. This year that figure dropped to 63% in the optimists club. Key challenges (obstacles) cited for the industry were regulatory burdens and lack of capital. Tax concerns were also cited. I tend to be more dismissive of the first two complaints for companies with good projects -- but I do from time to time advocate here for more (continued) government tax credits and grants for the industry.
The voter side of things was a bit scary to me. Apparently, 56% of voters favor enactment of US tax policies and direct funds that would help biotech businesses. It turns out though, when voters are actually educated as to what the biotech industry does, the number rockets up to 83%. Yikes!
Posted by Bruce Lehr Jun 22nd 2012.
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