President Biden signs executive order to boost biotech

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore

As a result of China's aggressive investment in biotechnology, which poses a threat to U.S. competitiveness, President Joe Biden has signed an executive order aimed at boosting biotech production and research in the United States, according to a senior administration official.

Biden signed the order on Sept. 12 launching the National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative (NBBI) and that the initiative will "ensure all the inventions in the United States can be manufactured here."

The White House said the initiative aims to promote biomanufacturing in industries such as pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and plastics.

In response to this, other countries, including China, have invested heavily in biotech in order to dominate the market and become the primary provider of biotech solutions and products around the world.

Using industry analyses as a source, the White House predicted that bioengineering could account for more than a third of global manufacturing output by the turn of the century. Value-wise, this amounts to nearly $30 trillion.

According to the White House, we have relied too heavily on foreign materials and bioproduction, and our off-shoring of critical industries, such as biotechnology, has threatened our ability to obtain materials like important chemicals and active pharmaceutical ingredients.

12 Sep 2022