By Marcus Rayner | To the Editor, NJBIZ
The HealthCare Institute of New Jersey recently released its annual economic impact survey, which found that the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries had a $24.2 billion impact on New Jersey’s economy last year (“Pharma strong, but N.J. says it’s no time to rest,” Jan. 9).
This is an invaluable contribution to our state’s tax base and residents’ quality of life.
Our highly skilled work force, transportation hubs and existing industry base make New Jersey a natural home for the pharmaceutical industry. But in order to solidify our competitive edge over neighboring states, we must begin to enact common sense civil justice reform measures that will enable the life sciences to continue to grow. Over the last decade, litigation tourism against our state’s premier industry has increased dramatically, tying up large amounts of capital that could be further invested in New Jersey’s economy. Today, 93 percent of the plaintiffs in mass torts against our state’s pharmaceutical companies come from outside of New Jersey.
Rising litigation and insurance costs threaten to undermine New Jersey as a place in which the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries would choose to expand. Enacting civil justice reform is a budget-neutral approach for the Legislature to take to ensure that the life sciences industry continues to create additional jobs in New Jersey.
Marcus Rayner, executive director
New Jersey Lawsuit Reform Alliance
Trenton
