A Recap of Policies That Shaped the Life Science Industry in 2024

Biocom California’s policy team works out of our offices strategically located in San Diego, South San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento and Washington, D.C., to advocate for issues that affect the life science industry at every level of government. In this article, we share the highlights of our regulatory and legislative efforts for 2024.

Federal Policy Update from Washington, D.C.

By Laure Clark, Sr. Director, Federal Policy and Government Affairs, Biocom California

Election years are often marked by legislative inaction. This year was no different, with legislation often passing in one chamber just to die in the other. Regardless, we stayed highly engaged and were pleased that our input was requested throughout the year by the California congressional delegation and congressional committees on many issues, including: international supply chain restrictions, R&D amortization, Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) fixes, the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) and the Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher Program. We were also able to incorporate our members’ priorities in our hundreds of appropriations requests, 21st Century Cures 2.0 comments and a myriad of comment letters to regulatory agencies. We hosted roundtables for many members of Congress, congressional candidates and high-level officials at the FDA, ARPA-H, BARDA, CMS and Department of Commerce to connect our members to decision-makers. Lastly, we convened educational sessions on topics important to our members from march-in rights proposals and Drug Price “Negotiation” guidances, to funding opportunities and elections dynamics.

State Policy Update from Sacramento

By Claire Conlon, Sr. Director, State Government Affairs, Biocom California

We have been working for years to ensure the Beyond Benefits Health Trust can continue offering excellent health coverage to life science companies and it was a huge win for our sponsored legislation to pass again this year. In total, Gov. Gavin Newsom acted on 1,206 bills, and of note, he vetoed legislation to rein in anticompetitive practices pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are using to drive up prescription drug prices. Facing a historic budget deficit, the passage of the state budget included a three-year suspension of Net Operating Loss deductions and $5 million cap on research and development credits. We successfully negotiated a provision requiring the Department of Finance to assess the state’s cash position and recommended the termination of these suspensions if revenues are sufficient, and continued advocating for the early reinstatement of these industry incentives. The business community spent much of the year educating the legislature about how our companies and research institutions utilize artificial intelligence, fighting off efforts to prematurely overregulate.

Regional Policy Updates from San Diego, Los Angeles and Bay Area

By Melanie Cohn, Sr. Director, Regional Policy and Government Affairs, Biocom California

Early this year, we published the Local Government Handbook, a guide for decision-makers and their staff on how to approach local policy making that supports life science. Another milestone was the passage of San Diego’s University Community Plan Update, the land use policy that will dictate the development of the life science hub over the next 30-plus years. Our staff served on the advisory committee for the plan and was successful in advocating for density for both labs and workforce housing. We helped to secure additional transit routes for life science commuters, supported construction permit extensions and an update to the city’s general plan. In the Bay Area, we were successful at lowering San Francisco’s proposed increase to life science business taxes and helped educate several cities on the impacts of their tax policies. A major accomplishment was the passage of Keep Innovation in Berkeley, a package of zoning changes that will support growth and retention of life science. Berkeley also approved a new gross receipts tax exemption for research and development grants. The Los Angeles region saw the implementation of zoning changes we worked on with the City of Pasadena, and we worked with both LA city and county officials on their initiatives to attract and retain life science companies.