Venture Capital In Medical Innovation Declines

A measure in the president's new budget that would reduce the data protection period provided to new biologic therapies — a complex class of medicines that has delivered breakthrough treatments for everything from cancer to childhood genetic disorders to anthrax. The president wants to scale back the existing period from 12 to seven years.

Elsewhere, the administration has proposed limiting the ability of brand-name drug manufacturers and generic competitors to settle patent disputes through out-of-court settlements.

Both policies take direct aim at the intellectual property protections that provide investors with the confidence and predictability needed to support medical innovation.