Capitol Gains: Confronting Biotech’s Policy Risks

Biotech investors have long considered scientific uncertainty, clinical setbacks, and commercial risk when making investments. John Stanford, founder and executive director of the policy advocacy organization Incubate argues that the life sciences venture capital firms he represents need to pay increasing attention to Washington due to instability at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, competitive threats from China’s emergence as an innovation powerhouse, and reduced federal investment in research. Stanford discusses how drug-pricing policy and FDA leadership turnover influence which companies get funded, why he sees the Inflation Reduction Act’s treatment of small-molecule drugs as a particular problem, and why protecting American leadership requires supporting the entire drug-development ecosystem.