The Milken Institute is slated to release a report today, "The Global Biomedical Industry: Preserving U.S. Leadership", detailing the competition the U.S. med-tech industry faces from Europe and Asia.
"The nation holds a commanding global position in the biomedical industry, but countries across Europe and Asia are pursuing aggressive plans to close the gap and take the high-value jobs and capital this sector creates," according to a press release from the non-profit think tank. "To protect U.S. leadership, policymakers must take a specific series of actions to sustain the industry and support its growth."
The biomedical sector accounts for about 5 million U.S. jobs, including 1.2 million high-paying private-sector positions in pharmaceuticals, bio-tech, med-tech, research and testing, according to the release.
The Santa Monica, Calif.-based Milken Institute is an independent economic foundation whose mission is to "improve the lives and economic conditions of diverse populations around the world by helping business and public policy leaders identify and implement innovative ideas for creating broad-based prosperity."
The institute is no stranger to challenges to U.S. leadership in the biomedical sector. It held a panel in May titled "Biomedical Innovation: Can the U.S. Keep Its Edge?" which focused on the competition arising from Asian and European countries’ efforts to "wrestle biomedical innovation infrastructure away from the United States."
Click here to watch the “Biomedical Innovation: Can the U.S. Keep Its Edge?” panel discussion.