Our Defining Edge: Protecting Innovation
By: Priscilla VanderVeer
At No Patient Left Behind, we have a defining edge: Our small, focused team moves quickly, deploying resources and our network where they matter most. We function as a catalytic hub: convening CEOs, investors, patient leaders, and policy experts, converting their expertise into coordinated, high-impact action.
In this series, we’re exploring how we’ve used our defining edge to bring clarity and credibility to policy debates. You can read the first piece in the series here.
As the debate on “Most Favored Nation” policies started to heat up last year, No Patient Left Behind delivered issue briefs and comment letters that helped media and regulators better understand this policy’s risks. We:
Wrote to the Office of the United States Trade Representative to address unfair trade practices that let wealthy countries free-ride on American biomedical innovation
Shared research on the Freeriding Index, which quantifies how much wealthy countries underpay for innovative medicines
Demonstrated the flaws of the methodology frameworks deployed by NICE and ICER and how they deeply undervalue biomedical innovation and restrict patient access
We also used analyses to share our concerns about the Inflation Reduction Act’s pill penalty. We’re sparking renewed momentum to fix this issue by putting together a letter backed by 400+ signatories, which resulted in:
CBO leadership publicly acknowledging that NPLB’s arguments were correct
A reshaping of CBO’s modeling approach
The White House prioritizing restoring small-molecule parity
And we’re showing up at critical conversations. Last month, we spoke at the CNBC Cures Summit and on a panel at the IVI Center for Innovation & Value Research Methods Summit about how these policies discourage investment in the exact innovations that drive the biggest advances in care.
In addition to protecting innovation at the federal level, we’re also focusing our efforts in a key biotech hub.
Massachusetts leads the world in biotech innovation, yet policymakers threaten to dismantle it. Our MA Paradox MA-rketing Coalition is the first coordinated effort to unite innovators, investors, academics, and patients behind message-tested storytelling that builds public trust and strengthens political will in Massachusetts. We’ve already reached 95+ members since our launch with three projects underway, and much more to come this year.
Read more about where we’ve been and what’s ahead for 2026 here.