This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I was stunned to read the op-ed entitled "Hatch puts Colombian peace at risk to help Novartis" (May 22) by a foreign academic who takes issue with Sen. Orrin Hatch's well-known support of innovation in the bio-pharma sector.
First, I do not agree with the accusations as stated. Hatch should not be criticized for supporting efforts to protect intellectual property rights at home and abroad. As someone who sees the daily challenges of developing new, life-saving treatments, I believe that securing protections for one of our nation's most valuable assets — American ingenuity — should be a top priority for our nation and our nation's leaders. Without that protection, the businesses I represent, and the many people employed by these companies, simply could not survive.
Make no mistake; the life science industry relies on innovation, and these companies are a key plank in Utah's strong economy. A 2015 study by Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) found that more than 200,000 Utahns, or nearly one-fifth of the state's private-sector workforce, are employed by IP-intensive companies. These employees' yearly salaries are, on average, 31 percent higher than those of other private sector workers in the state.
According to this same study, an additional 380,000 Utahns, or more than a third of our workforce, have jobs that indirectly support IP-intensive companies. In other words, more than half of the working people of Utah either directly or indirectly owe their jobs to intellectual property. The GIPC study also found that, in Utah, we spend significantly more per civilian worker on research and development and that, relative to the population, significantly more patents, trademarks and copyrights are registered to Utahns than the national average. The fact is, the state of Utah is very much interested in, and invested in, the promotion and protection of intellectual property.
Sadly, Utah's innovation is under constant attack, particularly on the international stage. Many foreign governments are eager to steal U.S. innovation to promote their own political or economic agendas. The majority of new advancements in medical innovation are developed by small start-ups where IP protection is especially critical. These start-ups are the lifeblood and a large part of Utah's future for economic growth. And, unfortunately, these companies are used to seeing attacks on U.S. innovation overseas.
I was thus very surprised to see an opportunistic attack on our home-state senator from a foreign professor whose views clearly don't value the hard-work and creativity that Utahns are working hard every day to improve lives. The fact of the matter is, thanks to the hard work of Hatch and many of our other elected representatives, every day millions of individuals — both in Utah and around the world — have access to innovative medical solutions that improve quality of life, maintain healthy well-being, and even change healthcare outcomes for patients. These efforts should be applauded, not criticized by foreign academics in Colombia.
Kelly Slone is the president of CEO of BioUtah and represents Utah's life science industry.