BIO Applauds Bipartisan Introduction of the PARTNER Act

Washington, DC (May 4, 2017) – Today, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) thanks Reps. Pat Meehan (R-PA), Richard Neal (D-MA), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Ron Kind (D-WI), and John Larson (D-CT) for introducing the Partnerships to Advance Revolutionary Technology and Novel Entrepreneurial Research (PARTNER) Act.  This important legislation would support early-stage capital formation by incentivizing investment in R&D-focused small businesses.

The PARTNER Act would allow growing companies to partner with their investors on a specific research project or pipeline and share in the tax benefits of their R&D spending. Only start-ups and small companies dedicated to R&D would be eligible to use these R&D Partnership Structures, so investors would be incentivized to invest at an earlier stage when the capital is most needed.

The following statement may be attributed to BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood:

“The PARTNER Act would address the unique financing obstacles faced by small, research-intensive biotechnology companies. By making it easier for pre-revenue companies to attract the investment they need to bring therapies to patients, the PARTNER Act will incentivize life-saving R&D and spur economic growth across the country.

“Conducting groundbreaking research is a decades-long, billion-dollar endeavor, and emerging companies desperately need early-stage investors with a long-term investment strategy. Such companies are responsible for approximately 70 percent of today’s pipeline of potential new medicines in clinical testing. BIO believes that tax reform should include innovation incentives designed to stimulate investment in R&D, and the PARTNER Act fits the bill.

“We commend Reps. Meehan, Neal, Kelly, Kind, and Larson for introducing this important legislation, and we look forward to working with Congress to ensure that tax reform supports the growth of pre-revenue innovators.”

 

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