Appendix A

Statement of Task

An ad hoc committee will plan and host a 1.5-day public workshop to facilitate discussion focused on the translation of federal investments in biomedical science to innovation in drug development and how the public benefits from that investment in terms of drug pricing and access. The meeting will feature invited presentations and panel discussions on topics that may include:

• how federal funding for biomedical research, particularly via the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has contributed to new drug development, both directly and indirectly;
• the pricing of drugs that have benefited from federal investments in biomedical science;
• the role of technology and patent transfer to and from entrepreneurial organizations associated with NIH-funded research;
• potential ways to better track, quantify, and document NIH contributions to innovation in drug development; and
• potential strategies and policies to facilitate the translation of federally funded biomedical research into innovations in drug development and to help ensure that the public has affordable access to those innovative medicines.

The planning committee will develop the agenda, select and invite subject-matter experts and discussants, and moderate the discussions. A proceedings of the event will be prepared in accordance with institutional guidelines.