Bio-1 Governance Board Spotlight on
Steve Issenman, Senior Vice President of HINJ

By Rashi Jain

If your business is run by the right people, offers the right products, targets the most effective markets and follows every regulation with precise consideration, then you might wonder, what could go wrong?  The answer:  POLICY!  A policy can foster the growth of businesses and industries, or significantly diminish them.  Recognizing the importance of policy making and advocacy within the biopharmaceutical industry, Steve Issenman, Senior Vice President of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ), dedicates most of his time to representing the policy interests of HINJ’s 35 member companies to elected officials, policy makers, business leaders and the academic community.

While working to find new treatments and cures for the world’s most dreaded diseases, these companies contribute significantly to New Jersey’s workforce and economy.  Steve and the HINJ team work to educate New Jersey’s elected officials and policy makers about the tremendous contributions the industry makes to global human health and to the state’s economy.

Steve’s work at HINJ closely aligns with Bio-1’s mission of workforce development and retention, which gives him a good reason to serve Bio-1 as a Governance Board member. As part of the Bio-1 team, he shares information concerning Bio-1 programs with HINJ’s member companies and connects their workforce with the opportunities that Bio-1 has to offer.

Although the economic downturn has had a pronounced effect on New Jersey’s life science community, it has accentuated Bio-1 as a tremendously important vehicle in bringing together New Jersey policy makers, workforce advocates, industry leaders, and the academic community to identify and develop policies and tactics which will help to maintain New Jersey’s competitive edge amongst the many states that seek to attract these jobs away from the Garden State.

Steve looks forward to continuing to work with Bio-1 to identify new ways to maintain our state’s talented workforce during these challenging times.  He also hopes to cause other policy makers and stakeholders to recognize the tremendous value in sustaining Bio-1 initiatives as we navigate these economic uncertainties. Since the pursuit and discovery of new, life-saving medicines and medical technologies is directly tied to the decisions being made in Washington and in Trenton, Steve and HINJ will continue to pursue policies that protect patients around the world while protecting jobs here in New Jersey.