Opinion: STAT+: Bristol Myers Squibb CEO: Pharmaceutical innovation requires bold yet predictable U.S. policy
Bristol Myers Squibb CEO warns against “slashing U.S. investment in medicines or importing lackluster policies of less innovative health care systems.”
Having grown up in rural Arkansas, I have an acute awareness of the challenges many in our country face when it comes to health care. Quality care wasn’t always accessible, and the decision of whether to pay medical or utility bills was a real dilemma for my family and others in our community.
That is why bringing transformational medicines to patients and advocating for policies that ensure these medicines are rapidly and widely available are so important to me and my 30,000 colleagues.
We are motivated by the fact that our medicines can change the lives of patients. But that belief hinges on government policies that encourage highly risky investments and facilitate access. Right now, we have significant concerns that some potential policies surfacing in Washington could threaten the health of Americans and the U.S. economy.
