Japanese pharmaceutical giant Takeda (NYSE: TAK) has officially withdrawn its membership from the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), the world’s largest biotech trade association, according to Fierce Pharma. This move makes Takeda the fourth major company to leave BIO since December of the previous year, following the exits of Pfizer and UCB in December 2023, and Contract Research, Development, and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO) WuXi AppTec (SHA: 603259) thereafter.
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a trade group representing pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies, has also seen a similar trend, with AbbVie, Teva, and AstraZeneca successively leaving the organization at the start of this year.
Industry analysts suggest that associations like BIO and PhRMA serve as critical platforms for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to express their views and lobby policymakers on key issues such as taxation and regulation. However, with the U.S. government’s increasingly assertive policy-making, BIO and PhRMA have been unsuccessful in lobbying to prevent unfavorable provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Biosecure Act, which may be a driving factor behind the departure of these large enterprises. The Inflation Reduction Act, which allows for price negotiations on certain drugs starting from September 2024, and the potential supply chain disruptions and increased costs associated with the Biosecure Act, have been particularly contentious among pharmaceutical groups.- Flcube.com
