WASHINGTON & SAN DIEGO & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), the trade association representing California’s life sciences sector, today applauded the U.S. House passage of H.R. 184, the Protect Medical Innovation Act, which permanently repeals the job and innovation hindering 2.3% medical device excise tax levied on medical technology companies. The bill now awaits U.S. Senate action. This statement can be attributed to Sara Radcliffe, President & CEO, California Life Sciences Association:
“California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) applauds the U.S. House passage of H.R. 184, legislation that permanently cancels the ill-conceived 2.3% medical device tax, so that it cannot further hinder innovation and investment in medical technology research and development.
“For many years, our trade association has consistently led the charge in educating the California Congressional delegation on the perils of this tax on innovation. CLSA and our broad membership of biomedical innovators welcome today’s news. We will continue to work diligently with our bipartisan California congressional delegation until this tax is fully repealed, and no longer a drag on medtech investment, innovation and job creation.
“Since its inception in 2013, there has been increasing bipartisan support to scrap the medical device tax. Full repeal is critical to ensuring that the U.S. does not jeopardize our position as a global leader in medical technology innovation. We urge the U.S. Senate to swiftly take up this bill, and repeal the medical device tax once and for all.”
Impact of the Tax: According to CLSA’s 2018 California Life Sciences Industry Report, California is home to 1,796 medical device firms employing over 77,200 people – more firms and employees than any other state in the nation, and representing 18.5% of the nation’s medtech workforce – making the impact of the tax on our state particularly troublesome.
Click here to view an op-ed in STAT News on the impact of the medical device tax.
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About California Life Sciences Association (CLSA)
California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) is the state’s largest and most influential life sciences advocacy and business leadership organization. With offices in Sacramento, San Diego, South San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington DC, CLSA works closely with industry, government, academia and others to shape public policy, improve access to innovative technologies and grow California’s life sciences economy. CLSA serves biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostics companies, research universities and institutes, investors and service providers throughout the Golden State. CLSA was founded in 2015 when the Bay Area Bioscience Association (BayBio) and the California Healthcare Institute (CHI) merged. Visit CLSA at www.califesciences.org, and follow us on Twitter @CALifeSciences, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
