Proposed Inflation Reduction Act Expansion Threatens U.S. Biopharma with Job Losses and Innovation Decline

The proposed expansion of the Inflation Reduction Act is projected to have severe consequences for the U.S. biopharma sector, potentially causing hundreds of thousands of job cuts and reducing innovation in critical therapeutic areas. A recent report by healthcare consultancy Vital Transformation argues that the expansion could lead to the elimination of 136,000 to 216,000 biopharma jobs and result in an additional 678,000 to 1,076,000 indirect layoffs across the U.S. The report also warns of a potential impact on FDA approvals, estimating around 134 fewer approvals over a 10-year period, particularly affecting areas of unmet need such as oncology, neurology, rare diseases, and infectious diseases in the elderly population.