Talking All Things IP On the Making Medicine Podcast

Incubate executive director John Stanford recently sat down with Joshua Kresh for an episode of the Making Medicine podcast to talk about all things intellectual property (IP). Kresh leads the Institute for Progress & Innovation (IPPI), where he focuses on strengthening the policies that support scientific progress.

IP underpins everything from movies and music to, most importantly, the medicines we rely on. Drug development is slow, risky, and enormously expensive, often taking over a decade and costing billions of dollars. And once a drug exists, it's easy to copy. Without strong IP protections, Kresh argues, companies simply wouldn't take those risks, and the biotech sector would be a fraction of its current size.

Stanford and Kresh also touch on the broader IP landscape. More than a decade of court decisions have weakened patent rights, especially for diagnostics and software. Kresh points to the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA) as a key fix. They also discuss recent proposals like diverting 50% of university patent royalties or taxing patent value. Kresh warns these proposals would undermine research and duplicate existing taxes.

The takeaway is clear: patents are essential to life-science venture capital. Without reliable IP, investors won't fund the long, costly path to new medicines.

To hear Stanford and Kresh's full conversation, be sure to check out the Making Medicine podcast on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts!