Positive Session for Bioscience Sector

The 2026 General Assembly session was one of the least contentious in recent memory for the biopharma sector.

Bills calling for innovation-sapping price controls and unworkable programs like Canadian drug importation were either not submitted or were quickly sidelined.

The 1.75% capital gains surcharge bill, SB 510, anathema to the nascent venture capital community, was not taken up by either chamber.   

Since the legislature and every governor since John Rowland has worked hard to build the life sciences sector and draw into Connecticut biopharma’s high-paying jobs and innovation, the economic development value of not introducing a profusion of anti-biopharma bills cannot be overstated.  

Perhaps the most important outcome of the 2026 session was the wisdom that prevailed in the General Assembly to pass on bills aimed at the 340B drug discount program.

340B Program 

340B drugs are sold at a steep discount to hospitals and other providers to assist these entities in their non-profit mission to care for the indigent, the poor, and under- and un-insured patients.   

Since the 340B program’s introduction in 1992, the aggregate value of discounted drugs has grown dramatically.

This would be a good outcome if the discounts were reliably and consistently benefiting the patients who need them and the charitable purposes of hospitals.

The 340B program is a product of federal law and the solution lies at the national level.

Unfortunately, a substantial amount of 340B discounts have been claimed for patients who are insured and directed to purposes not clearly associated with charitable intent.  

The 340B program is a product of federal law and the solution lies at the national level. 340B drug discounts need to be clearly and explicitly linked to 340B-eligible patients.

Unfortunately, bills like SB 494 drive policy in the opposite direction, making the 340B program even more obtuse by making it more difficult to link 340B discounts to the patients who need and deserve them. SB 494 was wisely left uncalled. 

Budget Bill Bundling 

Several notable provisions originally contained in other bills found their way into SB 1, the budget implementer bill.  

Section 444 gives the Commissioner of Social Services the authority (though not required) to review “clinical effectiveness” of prescription drugs under the Medicaid program.

Section 461 provides that where a generic or biosimilar FDA-approved drug exists as an alternative to the reference (brand) drug, health benefit plans must include a generic or biosimilar alternative on a lower cost formulary tier (related language was proposed in SB 331 and SB 342).  

The budget bill also included the expansion of the research and development tax credits to pass-through entities.

SB 1 also included the expansion of the research and development tax credits to pass-through entities provision that featured in SB 84 and HB 5319

A top priority for CBIA, the change enables the tax credit for qualifying small businesses that incur eligible R&D spending in Connecticut and allows small business owners to claim the credit against their personal income tax liability. 

Qualified small businesses must apply for and receive a credit voucher to claim the credit, which equals 6% of the R&D spending they pay or incur for a tax year.   

Angel Investor Tax Program 

SB 477 passed on the last day of the session and included language that improves the Connecticut’s Angel Investor Tax Credit Program.

It reduces the workforce Connecticut residency requirement for qualified companies from 75% to 50%. 

Since it has become very common for start-up companies to have employees and operations in multiple states, this change will allow significantly more investors to fund Connecticut high tech companies.

The bill also allows related entities to count as one business in qualifying for the angel tax credit. 

Leading in Psychedelic R&D 

Building on Connecticut’s reputation for innovation and cutting-edge research, the General Assembly passed SB 191.

This bill allows the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to establish a “psychedelic-assisted therapy pilot program.”

The program is aimed at providing psilocybin and MDMA treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

The program is aimed at providing psilocybin and MDMA treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression affecting veterans, retired first responders and “direct care healthcare” workers. 

SB 450 and HB 5044 passed both chambers and are now Public Act 26-3.

The law centralizes immunization authority in the Department of Public Health, expands the definition of standard of care for immunization, creates a new Vaccines for Adults program and clarifies how immunization requirements interact with religious freedom protections.