Thousands of Nevadans could lose their jobs in the coming years if the Biden administration backs what I believe to be a deeply misguided proposal before the World Trade Organization.

And unfortunately, the administration could announce its formal support for the proposal, which would gut patent protections for COVID-19 tests and treatments, within weeks. It's up to Nevada's congressional delegation to prevent this. 

This new proposal comes on the heels of last year's World Trade Organization decision to waive intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines, a measure the White House supported. 

That decision was flatly indefensible. The vaccines were developed because of strong intellectual property protections — not in spite of them. When the waiver was adopted, there was already a global supply glut of shots. The move didn't help create a single vaccine.

Similarly, low- and middle-income countries already have a surplus of treatments — meaning the World Trade Organization's new waiver would be another unnecessary measure. I believe it could also take an axe to jobs in Nevada's emerging bioscience industry and give China a free boost in the global competition for technological leadership. 

Nevada's biotech sector has become a pillar of the state's economy. It supports over 15,000 jobs and generates $4.3 billion in economic output. Our academic bioscience research and development investment grew by a staggering 27 percent from 2018 to 2020, the second highest growth rate nationwide.  

Nevada life sciences jobs also pay extremely well, boasting average annual salaries of nearly $100,000. Given the Silver State's extremely low tax burden, that money goes much further here than it would in other states often touted as the ideal destination for biotech workers, such as Massachusetts and California. 

But the World Trade Organization waiver would jeopardize those jobs by drying up the capital that sustains them. The math behind drug development is unforgiving. On average, it costs $2.8 billion to bring a new therapy to market. If investors and companies know they won't have any exclusive right to their own inventions, they'll simply refuse to pursue research and development, putting the people tasked with creating new medicines out of work.

The proposed waiver could also be a gift to China. Despite the fact that Beijing pledged not to take advantage of the 2022 vaccine waiver, it's doubtful that a country with such an egregious record of intellectual property violations and industrial espionage will honor that promise. According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Chinese intellectual property theft costs the American economy up to $600 billion each year.  

In all likelihood, last year's vaccine waiver means our foremost geopolitical adversary now has access to invaluable mRNA technology. I believe the communist regime would love nothing more than another opportunity to take proprietary American intellectual property free of charge.

In 2015, Beijing established a "Made in China 2025" strategy, which is aimed at securing Chinese dominance in numerous high-tech industries, including by monopolizing entire supply chains. By giving Beijing concessions now, we risk enabling them to supplant us in the life sciences sector down the line. 

As a serial entrepreneur and head of the Sin City Chamber of Commerce, I work hard to make sure Nevada is a place where all types of businesses can thrive. Crushing our economy-driving biotech industry, signaling that any risky innovation could be stripped of intellectual property rights, and funneling our tech to China is the last thing local businesses need.

Strong intellectual property protections have helped secure U.S. economic competitiveness across the globe and allowed states such as Nevada to create tens of thousands of high-paying jobs. The World Trade Organization's newest waiver could gravely imperil both of those achievements, and it's why Nevada's congressional delegation must urge the Biden administration to oppose it. 

Maxine Fensom is the founder and president of the Sin City Chamber of Commerce.

The Nevada Independent welcomes informed, cogent rebuttals to opinion pieces such as this. Send them to [email protected].