Biotechnology Innovation Organization


The Biotechnology Innovation Organization is the largest trade organization in the world that represents the biotechnology industry.
It was founded in 1993 as the Biotechnology Industry Organization, and changed its name to the Biotechnology Innovation Organization on January 4, 2016. Biotechnology Innovation Organization serves more than 1,100 biotechnology firms, research schools, state biotechnology centers and related associations in the United States and in more than 30 other countries.

Activities

Trade meetings

BIO holds a trade meeting each year in the United States, which are essential for the business development and partnering activities that are required in the biotechnology sector, in which it is expensive to develop products, timelines to develop products are long, and regulatory risks are high. In 2018 the BIO International Convention was held in Boston and was attended by 18,289 delegates from 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico and 67 countries. The event also held over 46,916 One-On-One Partnering Meetings, becoming a Guinness World Records, Record Holder for the "Largest Business Partnering Event."
It also holds regional partnering meetings, for example in China, India, and Europe.

Lobbying

In 2018, BIO spent $9.87 million on lobbying the government of the United States. Past issues that BIO has lobbied on included the amending the Internal Revenue Code to provide an exception from the passive loss rules for investments in high-technology research small business pass-through entities, to include vaccines against seasonal influenza within the definition of taxable vaccines, and to extend, expand, and improve the qualifying therapeutic discovery project program that first became law in 2010.
Examples of its public lobbying efforts, include support for development of biofuels such as those produced from algae, genetically modified crops, strong intellectual property rights, and for a more efficient and predictable regulatory process for new food and drug products.

Alliances

In June 2013 BIO partnered with the Coalition of Small Business Innovators to lobby the U.S. government to modernize the U.S. tax code "to recognize and promote small business innovation as fundamental to the long-term growth of the U.S. economy".
It is a member of The Alliance to Feed the Future, an umbrella network, the mission of which is to "raise awareness and improve understanding of the benefits & necessity of modern food production and technology in order to meet global demand".

Industry initiatives

The "Right Mix Matters" campaign launched in 2019 targets diversity within biopharmaceutical company leadership, including ongoing assessment of diversity measures and the provision of online tools aimed at assisting companies to achieve target diversity goals.

Organization

Members

BIOs members include companies that make Pharmaceutical drugs, biofuels, industrial enzymes, and genetically modified crops. As of 2016, it represents 1,100 biotech companies in all 50 U.S. states, which employ 1.61 million Americans and support an additional 3.4 million jobs.

Leadership

BIO was founded 1993 in Washington, D.C. and Carl B. Feldbaum was the president from BIO's founding until he retired in 2004.
He was succeeded by James C. Greenwood who held the offices of president and CEO from 2005 to 2020. Michelle McMurry-Heath will become president and CEO as of 2020.
Leadership of BIO is vested in a 100+ member board. Ron Cohen, CEO of Acorda, was elected chair of the board in June 2015.
As of June 19, 2017, John Maraganore, PhD., president and chief executive officer of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., was elected chair of the board. As of June 4, 2019, Jeremy Levin, CEO of Ovid Therapeutics, was elected board chair.

Biotechnology Heritage Award

The Biotechnology Heritage Award, presented annually at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization Annual International Convention by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization and the Science History Institute, recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of biotechnology through discovery, innovation, and public understanding.