Strong Intellectual Property Protections Improve Access to Lifesaving Medicines
The Alliance for Aging Research is committed to highlighting the critical role that strong Intellectual Property (IP) protections play in driving medical innovation and improving patient access to lifesaving treatments.
White paper
In April 2025, the Alliance for Aging Research released a white paper sounding the alarm: misguided policy proposals aimed at weakening IP protections could jeopardize future breakthroughs.
“A Fair Trade: How Intellectual Property Policies Unlock Better Access to Care” urges policymakers, patient advocates, and industry stakeholders to protect the integrity of IP laws in order to sustain the innovation pipeline and ensure continued progress in patient care.
The United States’ IP laws incentivize investment in medical research by protecting innovation and fostering collaboration between universities, startups, and private industry. One key example is the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which allows universities and research institutions to patent federally funded inventions. That policy alone has led to more than 200 FDA-approved treatments and therapies — and remains a powerful proof point for how smart IP policies can deliver real-world health breakthroughs.
Convening
In March 2025, the Alliance hosted a day-long convening on IP issues in Washington, DC. The multi-panel conference and open discussion convened experts from government, industry and patient.
Individual Panel Presentations
Panel 1: “From the University Lab to the Medicine Cabinet. Technology Transfer and the Battle Over Government ‘March In'”
Speakers: Joseph P. Allen, Executive Director, Bayh-Dole Coalition; Dennis Liotta, PhD, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Chemistry, Emory University; Jennifer Luray, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Public Engagement, Research!America; and John Stanford, Executive Director, Incubate Coalition.
Panel 2: “Patent Myths – Why Should Patient Groups Care?
Clarifying Post-Development Criticisms of Intellectual Property”
Speakers: Chris Israel, Executive Director, Alliance of U.S. Startups & Inventors for Jobs; David Kappos, JD, Co-founder, Council For Innovation Promotion; David Korn, Vice President, Intellectual Property and Law, PhRMA; and Brian O’Shaughnessy, JD, Partner, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP.
Panel 3: “America’s Biopharma Edge: Leading Globally.
How Global Policies Shape U.S. Innovation and Competitiveness in Life Sciences”
Speakers: Moderator John Hamre, PhD, President and CEO, CSIS; Mary Critharis, JD, Deputy Chief Policy Officer & Director for International Affairs, USPTO; Patrick Kilbride, Policy Fellow, Center for American Principles; and Mark Schultz, JD, Director, Intellectual Property and Technology Law Program, University of Akron School of Law.
Podcast Episode
When we think about equitable access to care, intellectual property is usually not the first thing that comes to mind. It’s easy to assume that patent protections are a secondary concern when lives are at stake. But in reality, these protections are what fuel the innovation that saves lives. Joining us to discuss the unique role of IP is David Kappos, co-founder of the Council for Innovation Promotion. David is widely recognized as one of the world’s foremost experts in intellectual property and has spent decades advancing healthcare innovation through thoughtful policy leadership.
Public Testimony
Alliance for Aging Research President & CEO Sue Peschin, MHS, delivered testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, “The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act — Restoring Clarity, Certainty, and Predictability to the U.S. Patent System” on October 8, 2025.
Alliance Testimony in Support of the PERA Act to Senate Committee on the Judiciary: ‘When Patent Law Works, Patients Benefit’
