Many of you are familiar with our outstanding state-level advocacy, and active Government Affairs Committee, currently chaired by Joe Hrdlicka of Genentech. You may be less familiar with our collaborations with federal groups, to help us strategically engage in biotechnology-related policy at the federal level, and to connect with biotechnology colleagues from across the country.

Historically, IowaBio has long partnered with PhRMA for assistance on timely engaging on pharmaceutical policy, and on education and resources on biopharmaceutical issues. We are able to engage with our federal delegation more effectively by utilizing PhRMA’s expertise. We also engage in-district, on events and educational opportunities with our delegation, companies and partners, to increase PhRMA’s impact at the state and federal level.

We have also had a successful affiliation with BIO over many years. BIO convenes CSBA, the Council of State Bioscience Associations, an organized group of biotechnology associations from across the country.  BIO historically represented not only pharmaceutical issues, but also a host of other agricultural and environmental issues, equally important to our IowaBio membership--which currently sits a little over half ag, animal health, and biofuels/bioindustrial companies.

Recently, BIO decided to shutter its Ag and Environment section, and so just as our members continuously strive to evolve and adapt, so too, has IowaBio. Recently, IowaBio has begun exploring federal collaborations in addition to our existing relationships with PhRMA and BIO, in order to better plug into issues at the federal level that our members care about in the non-human health arena.

The first such agreement is a Memorandum of Understanding we recently signed with the Animal Health Institute (AHI). AHI is a national trade group that represents manufacturers of animal biologics, diagnostics, medicines, pesticides and feed additives used to maintain the health and productivity of U.S. livestock and companion animals.

Animal health issues are paramount to both AHI and IowaBio. Indeed, few states’ economies are more reliant on a healthy animal population than Iowa. Nationally, the animal health industry serves to improve the health and welfare of nearly ten billion companion and food-producing animals in the United States, resulting in significant health, economic and social benefits for Iowans and all Americans. The economic health of Iowa and America’s farmers and animal producers depends upon the industry’s ability to prevent disease and keep animals healthy.

As outlined in the agreement, AHI and IowaBio share several members and many issues of mutual interest and concern including: reauthorization of the Animal Drug User Fee Act, adequate federal funding for the animal product review processes at U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Food and Drug Administration, animal provisions of the federal farm bill, trade policy, federal animal biotechnology regulations and numerous state matters such as animal vaccine legislation, bills restricting or otherwise limiting the testing of animals and mandating the adoption of test subject animals, legislation curtailing the use of neonicotinoid insecticides, compounding proposals, and Make America Health Again initiatives that intentionally or inadvertently capture animal food/feed.

The potential is obvious. We are excited to evolve in this new direction, where we align with AHI, an organization where we see the mutual benefits from our participation.  IowaBio hopes this relationship will bear out in stronger engagement in important animal health and agricultural-related biotechnology policies at both the state and federal levels.