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The Business Council supports S.2119 (Rivera) / A.228 (Gottfried), which would allow plasma donation centers in New York State to collect plasma pursuant to federal law. This is an important and very timely bill.
The Business Council has long been a proponent of expanding opportunities in New York State for bio-medical related businesses. Now more than ever, we see both the need for further expansion of the industry sector and a great opportunity to bring the important work of treatment for COVID-19 and other diseases into the state. In many cases, getting such business back to New York will be difficult work. However, with the passage of this bill, we can broadly expand the state’s capacity for plasma donations, used to make treatments for those with COVID-19 and other conditions. The time is now for New York to act to bring us into better alignment with most other states in the nation. New York currently has only 12 of 850 plasma donation centers in the United States, this can and must change.
Plasma donation is increasingly important, in that it is used to make therapies which treat many rare and chronic diseases. Also, and of the utmost importance, plasma protein therapies are being developed to treat people suffering with COVID-19. These therapies utilize plasma donated by those who have recovered from COVID-19. New York’s current law and regulatory scheme put up unnecessary roadblocks for the collection of plasma.
Unfortunately, we are living through times that soberly remind us how important novel treatments are for the protection of public health. This legislation helps to open up further opportunities in New York and is the forward-thinking kind of policy-making that we so desperately need as we both fight a pandemic and work to rebuild our economy.
It is for these reasons that The Business Council supports S.2119 (Rivera) / A.228 (Gottfried) and urges its passage by the Senate and the Assembly.