• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

Drug Delivery Business

  • Clinical Trials
  • Research & Development
  • Drug-Device Combinations
  • FDA
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Policy

Biotech, pharma chime in over Trump’s move to halt immigration program

September 6, 2017 By Sarah Faulkner

capitol hillOn Tuesday, biotech and pharmaceutical companies urged president Donald Trump to reconsider his decision to end former president Barack Obama’s policy protecting undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children.

Attorney general Jeff Sessions said Tuesday morning that Trump would move to halt the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in six months, unless Congress moves to protect it. The president & CEO of Decibel Therapeutics, Steven Holtzman, and the president & CEO of Ovid Therapeutics, Jeremy Levin, called on the president to “reverse your decision” in a letter that has since received add-on signatures from folks like the CEO of Biogen (NSDQ:BIIB), Michel Vounatsos.

“Unless we act now to preserve the DACA program, all 780,000 hardworking young people will lose their ability to work legally in this country, and every one of them will be at immediate risk of deportation. Our economy would lose $460.3 billion from the national GDP and $24.6 billion in Social Security and Medicare tax contributions,” the letter said.

“Dreamers are vital to the future of our companies and our economy. With them, we grow and create jobs. They are part of why we will continue to have a global competitive advantage.”

Others that signed on to the letter include Bigfoot Biomedical president & CEO, Jeffrey Brewer, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals(NSDQ:ALNY) CEO, John Maraganore, Acorda Therapeutics (NSDQ:ACOR) CEO, Ron Cohen, and many more.

The president also received a scolding from Allergan CEO, Brent Saunders, who took to Twitter yesterday to push Congress on the issue.

“Let’s move past exec orders. Congress please act on immigration reform to protect those who have done no wrong & keep our labor pool strong,” he wrote.

One of the first biopharma players to come out against the president’s decision was Juno Therapeutics (NSDQ:JUNO) CEO, Hans Bishop, who joined a number of other executives, including Facebook’s founder & CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, in signing a letter to the administration.

Washington, New York and California are considering legal action against the Trump administration over its move to halt DACA, according to CBS.

Filed Under: Featured, Legal News, Wall Street Beat Tagged With: Acorda Therapeutics, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Bigfoot Biomedical, Biogen Idec, decibeltherapeutics, junotherapeutics, ovidtherapeutics

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

  • Elixir Medical reports sustained durability with bioadaptor compared to Medtronic stent
  • Senseonics closes public offering, private placement with Abbott
  • Embecta eyes shift from insulin delivery to broader medical supplies focus
  • Medtronic earns expanded CE mark for Prevail paclitaxel-coated balloon
  • Sequel Med Tech to pair automated insulin delivery system with Abbott’s future dual glucose-ketone sensor

Primary Sidebar

“ddb
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest news and trends happening now in drug delivery.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.

Footer

Drug Delivery Business News Logo

MassDevice Medical NETWORK

MassDevice
DeviceTalks
Medical Tubing + Extrusion
Medical Design & Outsourcing
MedTech100 Index
Drug Discovery & Development
Pharmaceutical Processing World
Medical Design Sourcing
R&D World

DRUG DELIVERY BUSINESS NEWS

Subscribe to Drug Delivery’s E-Newsletter
Advertise with us
About
Contact us
Privacy
Listen to our Weekly Podcasts

Copyright © 2025 · WTWH Media LLC and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media.

Privacy Policy | RSS