Today, the Ohio Life Sciences Association (OLS) welcomes President Trump’s visit to Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Reading, Ohio, facility — a recognition of the vital role Ohio’s life sciences sector plays in both our national health security and economic competitiveness. OLS also celebrates Thermo Fisher Scientific’s April 2025 commitment of a $2 billion investment over four years to enhance and expand their U.S. manufacturing footprint. Ohio is proud to be a centerpiece of that commitment, and today’s presidential visit underscores the national significance of what Thermo Fisher is building here.
“Today’s visit is a powerful signal of confidence in Ohio’s workforce, infrastructure, and innovation ecosystem,” said Eddie Pauline, President & CEO of OLS. “At OLS, we are committed to ensuring Ohio is ready to attract and support investments exactly like this. That is why we are proud to be advancing the Ohio Life Science Training Center — a critical workforce infrastructure initiative designed to develop the skilled technicians, manufacturing specialists, and cGMP-ready professionals that companies like Thermo Fisher need to grow and sustain operations here in Ohio. As biopharma and life sciences manufacturing investments accelerate across the country, Ohio must compete aggressively — and we believe the Training Center positions us to do exactly that.”
OLS shares the administration’s concern about the affordability of prescription drugs. Drug pricing is a genuine burden on patients and families, and OLS strongly supports policies that meaningfully lower out-of-pocket costs. However, OLS urges caution against approaches — such as codifying Most Favored Nation drug pricing — that function as government price controls. While well-intentioned, such mechanisms risk undermining the investment in innovation that makes breakthrough therapies possible in the first place. The United States leads the world in biopharmaceutical R&D precisely because it has maintained an environment that rewards scientific risk-taking. Policies that erode that incentive structure will ultimately cost patients the next generation of cures.
“We also want to be candid about TrumpRx,” Pauline added. “While we welcome any effort to make prescription drugs more accessible, it is important for patients and policymakers to understand what TrumpRx does — and what it does not. In large part, TrumpRx consolidates and repackages existing manufacturer patient assistance programs and discounts. These are valuable resources, but they are not new. The program does not fundamentally alter the pricing landscape or move the needle on what discounted rates were available before it existed. Patients who were already eligible for these savings may now find them more easily in one place — and that is a good thing — but it is not a structural solution to drug affordability.”
That distinction matters enormously right now. At the same time TrumpRx is being promoted, an estimated 15 million Americans are projected to lose health insurance by 2034 — driven in part by nearly $1 trillion in proposed Medicaid cuts and the expiration of COVID-era insurance subsidies. A drug discount website, however well-designed, cannot substitute for coverage. For the patients most at risk of losing access to care, TrumpRx will offer little meaningful relief. This is precisely why we must address the underlying dysfunction of the entire healthcare system, not just its most visible symptoms.
The drug pricing problem is a symptom of a broader, broken healthcare system. Pharmacy benefit middlemen (PBMs), insurers, extract enormous costs that never reach the patient as savings. Lack of transparency in the supply chain, administrative complexity, and misaligned incentives all drive up what patients pay at the pharmacy counter. OLS encourages the administration and Congress to pursue structural reforms that address these root causes —such as PBM reform — alongside any conversation about manufacturer pricing.
Ohio is home to world-class research hospitals, emerging biotech companies, leading contract manufacturers, and an extraordinary talent base. Thermo Fisher’s continued and growing investment here reflects what OLS has always known: Ohio is a premier destination for life sciences. OLS looks forward to working with the administration, Ohio’s congressional delegation, and industry partners to build on this momentum — and to ensure that Ohio remains both a great place to discover, develop, and manufacture life-changing therapies, and a state where every patient can afford to access them.
About the Ohio Life Sciences Association
The Ohio Life Sciences Association (OLS) is the statewide voice for Ohio’s life sciences industry, representing companies and institutions across biotech, pharmaceuticals, medtech, diagnostics, digital health, and advanced manufacturing. OLS works to advance Ohio’s competitiveness, grow the life sciences workforce, and champion policies that support innovation and patient access.
Media Contact: Natalie Monroe, nmonroe@ohiolifesciences.org
