Greenwood Formally Accepts Offer To Become President of Biotechnology Industry Organization
House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Jim Greenwood (R-Pa.) on Thursday formally announced that he has accepted an offer to become president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization and will not seek re-election in November, Bloomberg/New York Times reports (Bloomberg/New York Times, 7/23). BIO on July 16 offered Greenwood the position, which includes a $650,000 annual salary and the potential for an additional $200,000 in bonuses; he formally accepted the offer on Wednesday. According to Greenwood, BIO made the offer because of his "passion" for the biotech industry and his expertise in the "policy process at the state, federal, legislative and regulatory levels." Greenwood will complete his sixth term in the House and likely will replace current BIO President Carl Feldbaum in January (Campbell/Turner, Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/23).
BIO -- which was founded in 1993 and represents biotech and pharmaceutical companies, universities and research organizations -- has lobbied against government price controls for prescription drugs and supported legislation in 1997 that established stricter guidelines for FDA reviews (Bloomberg/New York Times, 7/23). As chair of the House subcommittee, Greenwood has investigated issues related to the biotech industry and the Medicare program (Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/23).
Greenwood said, "After 24 years as a generalist I now wish to begin a new chapter in my life in which I can become a specialist in a dramatically exciting and revolutionary field" (Bloomberg/New York Times, 7/23).
NPR's "Morning Edition" on Friday reported on the Greenwood announcement and the "crucial" relationship between the biotech industry and federal lawmakers and regulators. The segment includes comments from Bill Allison, managing editor at the Center for Public Integrity, and Ira Loss, a senior health care analyst at Washington Analysis (Prakash, "Morning Edition," NPR, 7/23). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
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