On April 25, 2018, Ironworkers General President and PILMA Chairman Eric Dean sent the following letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees. The letter reaffirms PILMA’s commitment to strong intellectual property protections both domestically and in agreements with other countries.
“The Pharmaceutical Industry Labor-Management Association (PILMA), a coalition labor organizations and companies in the biopharmaceutical industry, is committed to the dual goals of fostering innovation of life-saving medicines and creating high-quality union construction jobs.
The biopharmaceutical sector support more than 4.7 million American jobs, including members of the building and construction trades unions. It is one of the few manufacturing industries that still maintains a significant employment footprint domestically. In order to devote time and resources to the long-term development of new treatments and cures through research and development, it is essential that strong protections of intellectual property are in place and enforced.
PILMA has a longstanding position supporting intellectual property protections in the U.S. and throughout the world. As PILMA has previously stated, we support intellectual property rights to be part of international rules and regulations that drive U.S. economic growth, job opportunities, and exports.
As your Committees and the Administration looks to use U.S. and international laws to enforce bilateral and multilateral agreements, standards, and regulations with countries around the world, we expect high policy and legal standards to be set and enforced. This includes 12 years of data protection for biologics, which is already U.S. law, to be a standard the Administration seeks to apply and enforce with other countries.
Innovation within the biopharmaceutical sector leads to new discoveries that save lives and help this important US industry remain competitive globally. It is essential for the health of all Americans and those around the world and the U.S. jobs the industry provides that this sector is protected with predictable and strong IP protections.”