Maintaining Our Leadership Position

HINJ nurtures better healthcare while improving state’s economy.

By Dean J. Paranicas, President and CEO, HealthCare Institute of New Jersey On Jun 20, 2016

New Jersey has earned the reputation as the “Medicine Chest of the World” and a global innovation hub – not only for its high concentration of life sciences companies, but also for the historic commitment to research-driven medical innovation these companies deliver, which improves global human health.

Sustaining this global leadership position, however, is demanding, as our industry navigates: an evolving global marketplace; scientific and technological advancements; and mounting competition from other states and nations for industry investment.

The HealthCare Institute of New Jersey’s (HINJ) mission is to help maintain the state’s global leadership position in this environment of challenges – and opportunities.

Serving as a unified voice for the state’s life sciences community, HINJ works to expand patient access to the most innovative biopharmaceuticals and medical devices and to promote awareness of the industry’s impact on the state’s quality of life and economic well-being.

HINJ serves its 25 member companies by educating decision makers – in Trenton and Washington, D.C. – on how proposals could impact: medical innovation; patient access to those innovations; and the state’s economy.

That economic impact is compelling – recently reaching an aggregate of $87 billion in direct and indirect output.

An estimated 369,000 New Jersey jobs are, directly or indirectly, supported by the biopharmaceutical and medical device sectors.

Impressively, an estimated 780,000 – 1 in 11.5 – New Jerseyans are economically touched by these two sectors.

A vital part of HINJ’s work is emphasizing the often-overlooked value of medical innovation. In addition to improving and saving lives, the fruits of medical innovation include the dramatic financial savings associated with avoided medical expenses and increased economic productivity for patients, their families, insurers, employers, governments and hospitals.

HINJ’s current policy portfolio includes many issues. At the state level, HINJ is primarily focused on legislative and regulatory proposals that impact health policy, medical innovation and economic development.

At the federal level, HINJ is currently focused on highlighting the value of medical innovation, repealing the medical device excise tax (currently suspended for two years), intellectual property protection, Food and Drug Administration user fee renewals, Medicare reimbursement and the Affordable Care Act’s implementation.

HINJ provides its member companies a direct voice in these efforts through a broad range of programming across New Jersey as well as on Capitol Hill.

In addition, HINJ provides its member companies access to: policy guidance; industry news, research and analysis; national and peer state trade associations; academia and other innovation thought leaders; the patient advocacy community; chambers of commerce and local civic leaders; and the organized labor community.

Moving forward, HINJ’s ongoing goal remains to nurture – rather than stifle – the virtuous cycle of better health, longer life and economic benefits resulting from life sciences innovation.

We all will be the better for it.

 

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HealthCare Institute of New Jersey

Dean J. Paranicas
President and CEO

120 Albany Street #550
New Brunswick, NJ 08901

732-729-9619
www.HINJ.org

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