Approximately 219 companies have signed a vague and contradictory open letter urging biopharmaceutical firms to abandon their core mission.
MassBio, the Massachusetts-based DEI resource center, created an open letter calling on companies and their leadership to abide by unnecessary DEI measures. These measures implement diverse BIPOC policy practices into biopharmaceutical businesses.
By joining, these signatory companies don’t receive any advancements within the medical sphere but subject themselves to vague social commitments that constrain biopharma principles and objectives.
The open letter holds back biopharmaceutical businesses through explicit actions: DEI requirements in recruitment, hiring, executive compensation, external partnerships, and company programming. At 1792 Exchange, we recognize these practices are bad for business because they take away from the merit expectation found within leadership. No longer is simple experience being looked at for genuine business benefit; instead, diversity becomes standard. Meaning, a new business partnership looks for diversity over merit.
Furthermore, the open letter also constrains these businesses through vague commitments: using corporate influence to promote internal DEI initiatives, encouraging employees to “self-educate on racism and contribute to the race dialogue,” and establishing leadership accountability for reporting microaggressions.
Biopharmaceutical companies exist to advance medicine and improve patient outcomes—not to shape social or racial discourse. In short, MassBio has effectively removed the “pharmaceutical” from “biopharmaceutical.”