BIO Applauds the Inclusion of Important Health Care and Agriculture Priorities and Programs in Year-end Government Funding Bill

BIO Applauds the Inclusion of Important Health Care and Agriculture Priorities and Programs in Year-end Government Funding Bill

John F. Crowley, President and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), today released the following statement ahead of an expected vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on a year-end government funding bill that includes many urgent and bipartisan health care and agricultural priorities and programs: 


“Congress now has a pivotal opportunity to pass reforms and to authorize funding for programs that will make a meaningful difference to advance the health and well-being of the American people. This bipartisan health care agreement advances policies that will also strengthen American competitiveness in biotechnology, improve our response to future pandemics and help to make life-saving medicines more affordable. 


“The agreement includes bipartisan reforms that will bring more transparency to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), middlemen who add wasteful costs to the healthcare system. Advancing these PBM reforms will begin to break the pernicious link between the fees that PBMs charge and the cost of medicines. Now is the time to take these important steps toward improving access to prescription medicines for patients, employers and taxpayers. 


“The legislation further renews a vitally important law that has helped our nation prepare and respond to public health emergencies. It also extends the Pediatric Priority Review Voucher (PPRV) program until September 2029. This program is a market-based mechanism that has incentivized the development of dozens of new treatments for patients with the most rare and devastating pediatric diseases. I’d like to offer a special thank you to the countless patient advocates who worked with us and others to ensure that the PPRV program was reauthorized.


“Additionally, the extension of the farm bill provides critical support to American farmers, ranchers and innovators, and enables continued research, development and sustainability of our nation’s food and renewable fuel supply.


“We urge lawmakers to support these important policies and programs. We look forward to working with the new Congress and new Trump administration to build upon these reforms in the coming year.”

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April 17, 2026 - Nutrivert Inc., a developer of non-antibiotic replacements for antibiotic growth promoters in livestock, today announced it has completed the first close, raising $2.375 million, of its Series A-2 funding round of $6 million. The round was led by global animal health investor Arrow Ventures with participation from other investors. The funding will be used to further develop Nutrivert’s manufacturing, human food safety and target animal safety and efficacy packages for the company’s lead product Nutrivert LDPP. Nutrivert LDPP is a proprietary, novel, orally available, lipidated synthetic enantiomeric desmuramyl analog of muramyl dipeptide, the smallest conserved immunoactive component of bacterial peptidoglycan. LDPP has no antibacterial effect but has consistently promoted growth and improved feed efficiency in pig studies. LDPP binds to the mammalian NOD2 receptor and is the only NOD2 ligand reported to inhibit the inflammatory signal NF-κB. In pilot studies, LDPP rescued 70kg pigs from an otherwise lethal dose of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and abrogated influenza disease symptoms in piglets. The Company intends to develop LDPP for all major livestock species worldwide. Patents have been granted in most major markets. The global antibiotic growth promoter market is worth an estimated $5.8 billion. Approximately 73% of all antibiotics are fed to livestock. The market is believed to be the world’s largest drug market by volume, with ~100,000 tons of active pharmaceutical ingredient administered annually. FDA’s latest data, for 2024, show a 13% rise in U.S. livestock antibiotic use since 2017. The Food and Agriculture Organization reports that livestock antibiotics are mostly given to speed animal growth. Regulators and non-governmental organizations have called for reduction of antibiotic use in livestock, citing concerns that the global, intensive use of antibiotics, often at subtherapeutic doses, selects for antimicrobial resistance: bacteria that are “immune” to antibiotics and that therefore pose a threat to public health. Spillovers of antibiotic-resistant bacteria from livestock to humans have been documented. “Nutrivert LDPP has consistently improved feed efficiency in pigs without antibiotics,” said Bernhard Kaltenboeck, CSO. “We are excited to have the support of Arrow Ventures and our other investors in bringing a new tool that will help producers reduce production costs and reduce selection pressure for antimicrobial resistance.” About Nutrivert LDPP: LDPP is an investigational compound currently undergoing clinical evaluation. It has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), or any other global regulatory authority for any indication. The safety and efficacy of LDPP have not been established. Any mention of potential use is based on preliminary data and does not guarantee future regulatory clearance or commercial availability.
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