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Klobuchar, LeMieux Hold Hearing Focusing on Innovation in Medical Device Industry

President and CEO of Minnesota Medical Device Company Testifies

June 22, 2010

Washington, D.C. – Chairman Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Ranking Member George LeMieux (R-FL) of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation and Export Promotion, co-chaired a hearing today that explored the opportunities and obstacles affecting the medical device industry in America.  The hearing examined how the medical device industry produces economic growth, increases exports, and creates job opportunities.  The hearing included testimony from the Andrew Weiss, president and CEO of CoAxia, Inc., a medical device company located in Maple Grove, Minnesota. 
 
“If our businesses, small and large, are going to succeed in an increasingly competitive global economy, we need to do everything we can to support rather than stifle innovation,” Klobuchar said.  “We need to shift our focus away from consuming and importing and back to producing and exporting.  These are principles that made America strong in the first place, and these are the principles that will drive economic development and job creation.”

“The recession has put enormous pressure on small and mid-size businesses, as well as investors, to find new and more economic ways to remain competitive,” LeMieux said. “Congress has a responsibility to work toward ensuring Americans have every opportunity to compete. Testimony from entrepreneurs, such as Floridian Mr. Rhys Williams, President of New World Angels, bring a unique perspective on the needs of small firms eager to bridge the divide between innovation and the marketplace. I thank him for his participation today.”

At the hearing, Klobuchar highlighted the positive role the medical device industry has played in the U.S. economy.  Currently, the United States is the top exporter of medical devices in the world, and from 2007 to 2008, jobs in the medical device industry rose by 0.7 percent while jobs in the overall economy declined by 1.5 percent.  In addition, for each job created in the medical device industry, more than four jobs are added to the overall economy.  Minnesota has led medical innovation for more than 60 years and boasts more than 400 medical device companies that together employ more than 50,000 people. 

Weiss also stressed the importance of the medical device industry: “I believe the medical device industry is one our nation’s most precious resources, and I am honored to have the opportunity to participate in the hearing.  It is important for us to look for ways to support medical innovation so that all device and therapy innovators can continue to create American jobs and life-saving new products,” said Weiss.  “Senator Klobuchar understands that in order to remain the world leader in the medical device field, we must provide the opportunity and environment for device companies to produce and commercialize new, innovative medical therapies here in the US – all while ensuring the highest levels of patient safety.”

Klobuchar discussed the need for a transparent and efficient path for approving new medical devices.  Recently, there have been concerns regarding changes in the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval process for medical devices that have affected investment in the industry.  Venture capital investment in the industry fell by nearly 30 percent between 2008 and 2009, from $3.4 billion in 2008 to $2.5 billion in 2009.

Earlier this year, Klobuchar sent a letter to the Commissioner of the FDA urging a regulatory framework that supports medical innovation and jobs as the FDA reviews the approval process for medical devices.  

At the hearing, Klobuchar and LeMieux, joined by Senators Mark Warner, Tom Udall and Mark Begich, emphasized the need for government policies that encourage innovation, from tax policy to education to a national competitiveness policy.

In addition to Weiss, the hearing also featured testimony from:

• The Honorable Aneesh P. Chopra, chief technology officer and associate director for technology, office of science and technology policy, Executive Office of the President

• Dr. Robert D. Atkinson, president, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

• Mr. Stephen J. Ubl, president and chief executive officer, Advanced Medical Technology Association

• Mr. Rhys L. Williams, president, New World Angels, Inc.
                     

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