Betting That Biotech Will Bring the FDA to Heel? Don’t Count On It

When Minnesota Democrat Al Franken and Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown line up on the same side of an issue, my first guess would usually be that it’s to vote on some meaningless resolution in favor of apple pie. Or, like now, it could be a sign that a controversial, potentially transformative piece of legislation is brewing. Some strange political bedfellows are sending signals that big things are cooking this week as the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) kicks off its annual convention in Washington, D.C. The biotech industry has plenty on its agenda to discuss every year—patent reforms, tax breaks, Medicare, rules for generic drugs, etc.—but this year some especially meaty issues are on the plate. Word is that BIO has been working behind the scenes on a series of pro-industry legislative proposals that take aim at the Food and Drug Administration, the agency with the power to make or break companies developing innovative new medical products. BIO president Jim Greenwood, a former Republican member of Congress from Pennsylvania, hinted last week at what’s coming at a meeting in Boston. According...