THE GLOBE’S Nov. 24 editorial, “Biotech bills give drugmakers too many years of exclusivity,’’ gets it right when it states that the biotech industry is vital to the Massachusetts economy and the miracle drugs it produces deserve robust protection as intellectual property. But enactment of too short a window of data exclusivity for innovative biologics could undercut the very incentives that drive this industry to discover breakthrough treatments, enable a better quality of life, and create jobs in our region.
Improving health care quality, expanding access to treatments, and lowering costs are goals that could be advanced by enacting a responsible pathway for Food and Drug Administration approval of follow-on biologics. Both the US House and Senate have seized this opportunity by proposing an approval pathway that grants innovators 12 years of data exclusivity.
PAUL GUZZI
Boston
The writer is president of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. 
