National Security

Biotech is a National Security Imperative
 

America's biotech dominance doesn't just help save lives and grow the economy -
 it also safeguards our national security. 

Protecting Our Leadership

Throughout the last 50 years, America's historic biotech leadership has allowed the United States to influence how powerful technologies are developed, regulated, and deployed globally. But our leadership is not promised. The bipartisan National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) has warned that China is rapidly closing the innovation gap with the United States. These actions threaten not only U.S. competitiveness, but also the long-term health security of American patients and that of our allies.

A National Strategy for Biotechnology

Strengthening our national and health security requires sustained focus on the policies and partnerships that enable innovation to thrive. Taken together, these priorities reflect areas where strategic alignment and continued investment can reinforce the innovation ecosystem - helping ensure breakthroughs are discovered, developed, and delivered here at home, while supporting economic resilience and global competitiveness.
 

• Improve Strategic Coordination
  Congress could create a National Biotechnology Coordination Office to align federal efforts across health, defense, commerce, and science - accelerating innovation while strengthening oversight.

• Boost Manufacturing and Make Supply Chains More Secure
  The United States must expand domestic biomanufacturing capacity and work with allies to secure supply chains and ensure reliable access to critical inputs and finished medicines.

• Enable Innovation
  Strong intellectual property protections and predictable regulations are essential to sustain private-sector innovation in a high-risk, high-reward industry.

• Promote Public-Private Partnerships
  America's biotechnology leadership depends on collaboration between the government and the innovators who move discoveries from lab to market.
   

National Security Matters For Intellectual Property
Strong IP protections safeguard American discoveries, attract investment, and prevent the erosion of America's technological advantage.
→ Explore BIO's IP policy work

BIO's Leadership in National Security

BIO represents the small and mid-sized biotechnology companies that power early discovery, scale advanced manufacturing, and respond rapidly to emerging threats.

As the voice of America's biotechnology innovators, BIO works with policymakers, national-security leaders, and global partners to strengthen U.S. leadership, resilience, and readiness in an increasingly competitive world. 
 

Browse all Letters, Comments & Testimony

• Testimony of John F. Crowley President and CEO, BIO House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health Hearing

• Testimony of BIO President & CEO John F. Crowley before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee 

• BIO Statement on Industry Tariffs

• BIO Statement on National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology Report: The Need for Immediate & Bold Action to Secure the U.S. Position as the Global Leader in Biotechnology
   

In the News

• The Washington Times: Don’t give America’s biotech leadership to China

• STAT News: It’s the 50th anniversary of the U.S. biotech industry. What will the next 50 years look like?

• Wall Street Journal: America Is Losing the Biotech Fight to China

• Newsweek: Republican Senator: U.S. Must Outcompete China on Biotechnology | Opinion

• STAT News: For national security, the U.S. must maintain its biotech dominance