Statement on Decline in U.S. Competitiveness

Statement By Council for American Medical Innovation President Debra Lappin on Decline in U.S. Competitiveness

New Report Ranks U.S. Third, Behind Singapore and Hong Kong

Washington, D.C. (May 20, 2010) – Debra Lappin, President of the Council for American Medical Innovation, released the following statement regarding a new report by the Institute for Management Development (IMD) that shows the United States falling behind other nations in global competitiveness:

“For more than a century, the United States has served as a shining example of what’s achievable through innovation, creativity and inventiveness. The IMD report out Wednesday illustrates the need to take a step back and carefully examine why, for the first time in decades, we’re falling behind other nations. With this data in hand, it’s time that we have a meaningful conversation on what needs to be done to reverse this alarming trend before it’s too late."

“To move toward a time of sustained recovery, growth and deficit reduction, investing in medical innovation – with its potential to bring down health care costs and generate millions of jobs – needs to be a national economic imperative with coordinated action at the highest levels of both industry and government.

“Stated simply, we need to innovate our way back into a position of global competitive leadership and out of the crisis presented by skyrocketing health-care costs and looming deficits. This means helping governors, mayors and innovators compete for investment dollars and manufacturing facilities. It also means funding new research, creating incentives for innovative medicines, therapies and devices, and cultivating today’s young science student who

will someday help cure cancer, diabetes, heart disease, HIV/AIDS or Alzheimer’s. According to a separate report released this week by the Alzheimer's Association, by 2050 Alzheimer's disease will cost $627 billion. A five-year delay in onset of this disease would decrease the total number of Americans age 65 and older with Alzheimer's from 5.6 million to 4 million by 2020.

“The Council is working with leaders in the public and private sectors to advance a comprehensive medical innovation agenda that will improve the human condition and secure our nation’s position in the global marketplace. As we are reminded today, U.S. leadership is not etched in stone, but dependent on our ability to cultivate new ideas across every sector of our economy. If we make medical innovation a national economic imperative, we will create jobs, bring down health-care costs, encourage life-saving research and ensure that the United States remains competitive for decades to come.”

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About the Council for American Medical Innovation

The United States faces serious challenges to maintaining its leadership position in innovation. The Council for American Medical Innovation is bringing together leaders in research, medicine, public health, academia, education, labor, and business, who are working in partnership toward a national policy agenda aimed at preserving U.S. leadership in medical innovation. American medical innovators create millions of high-paying jobs, and their discoveries are integral in the fight to cure cancer and other illnesses. The Council for American Medical Innovation views leadership in medical innovation as a key part of America's economic recovery, future prosperity and health.

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