[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 31, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S2875]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRANSFORMATION IN THE HEALTHCARE MARKET

 Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, Medical schools and teaching 
hospitals, the training ground for our nations' healthcare personnel 
and the centers for world class cutting-edge medical innovation, are 
facing significant challenges as new efforts of cost containment force 
radical transformation in the healthcare market. There has been a 
steady decrease in the pharmaceutical R&D performed at medical schools 
and teaching hospitals. A study by three pharmaceuticals companies 
revealed that while pharmaceutical R&D is larger dollarwise than NIH, 
the university-based portion of clinical trials fell from 82% in 1989 
to 68% in 1993.
  Given this fact, I am pleased to be an original co-sponsor of The 
Medical Innovation Tax Credit introduced by Senator D'Amato. This bill 
would give a tax credit of up to 20% on qualified research expenses to 
firms that conduct and expand their biopharmaceutical research 
activities at medical schools and teaching hospitals.
  In my home state of Texas, medical technology is poised to become a 
high-tech boom industry. Texas is currently home to more than 500 
medical technology companies with $5 billion in annual sales, according 
to a new report released by the Austin-based Texas Healthcare and 
Bioscience Institute. Medical technology companies currently employ 
about 38,000 people, making it a medium-sized manufacturing industry 
comparable to the state's paper, lumber and aircraft industries.
  Texas' growing presence in medical technology is firmly rooted in the 
state's universities and health-related research institutes. Academic 
health centers such as The University of Texas Southwestern Medical 
Center at Dallas, Baylor College of Medicine and MD Anderson Cancer 
Center in Houston, and the University of North Texas Health Science 
Center in Fort Worth position Texas as a world leader in biomedical 
research.
  By stimulating more private-sector research at these institutions, 
the Medical Innovation tax Credit will help ensure America's continued 
preeminence in bio pharmaceutical research; provide needed resources 
for medical schools and teaching hospitals; and encourage more clinical 
trials to be conducted in the United States.
  Mr. President, I look forward to working with Senator D'Amato and 
members of the Finance Committee to create an environment that will 
enable medical technology to grow and create jobs.

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