2024: When the Tech Transfer Community Rallied

Joe Allen
Bayh-Dole Coalition
 




This has been a landmark year. Not long ago, we wondered if there were any champions for Bayh-Dole on Capitol Hill, media coverage was dominated by our critics and there was little public appreciation for what the law accomplished. But 2024 marked a turning point where that’s no longer true. 

The catalyst was the most serious attack on the law in more than 40 years. Shortly after rejecting the latest attempt to have the government march in to set prices, the Biden Administration issues its infamous “Interagency Guidance Framework for Considering the Exercise of March-In Rights.” 

The guidance sought to misuse the statute so that if anyone thought the price of a resulting product was “unreasonable", they could petition the government to march in, forcing the university to license competitors. The White House touted the proposal as part of its plan to lower drug prices.

But more than a year later, the guidelines haven’t been finalized despite enormous political pressure from our critics who see them as a golden opportunity to roll back Bayh-Dole. So, what happened?

The answer is simple—the tech transfer community rose up in opposition. Universities, large and small companies, venture capitalists, economic developers and others sprang into action. A study showed that the Administration’s proposal would have little impact on reducing drug prices for a simple reason: drugs have multiple patents, with few covered by Bayh-Dole, so they could not be copied through the misuse of march-in rights. Even the critics were forced to concede the point.

And champions sprung up on Capitol Hill. Multiple letters were sent from prominent members of the Senate and House objecting to the proposal. Unlike the missives of the other side, those in opposition were bipartisan.

The tipping point was reached when the generic drug industry, which was supposed to be the prime beneficiary of the guidelines, also objected. They  have development costs and realized that in a race to the bottom, copiers could file march-in requests against them as well. 

To illustrate how far we’ve come, listen to what Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) had to say about Bayh-Dole at a recent event.

We’re not out of the woods yet, but we’ve come a long way. We’ve made our presence felt and the tide is turning. Now’s the time for the next step. With a new Administration and Congress taking office, we need to show how public/private sector research alliances, made possible by Bayh-Dole, promise a better tomorrow for those in United States and around the world.