Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath, president & CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, released the following statement in response to the Biden Administration’s “Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing” Executive Order: “BIO welcomes the Biden Administration’s directives to strengthen our domestic biotechnology and biomanufacturing industry. This Executive Order the president signed today acknowledges the ‘power of biotechnology’ and its benefits to the U.S. economy, work force and quality of life, as well its potential to boost food and agriculture innovation and address the climate crisis. We commend the administration for launching this initiative, particularly the actions to streamline regulatory regulations for biotechnology products, expand market opportunities for biobased products, work for international alignment of regulatory standards, and invest in training and education pathways to ensure an adequate, diverse biotech workforce. “From the onset of the Biden administration, BIO has called on the administration to proactively advance biotechnology to foster resiliency and sustainability throughout the agricultural value chain and build a stronger, more resilient, and environmentally sustainable economy. This executive order will help the U.S. and the world meet our environmental and public health goals.” Background The following are examples of BIO’s calls to advance biotechnology and biomanufacturing: BIO Calls for Actions to Bolster IRA’s Climate Investments by Advancing Biotech, Sept. 8, 2022 100 Days of Innovation Blueprint, Jan. 27, 2021 BIO letter to Pres. Biden on Advancing Biotech to Address Climate Crisis, Jan. 25, 2021 BIO Briefing Paper on Flighting Climate Change Through Biotech Innovation ###

As the Biden Administration begins implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization today called on the administration to take additional steps to foster the development and deployment of pioneering technologies that are critical to meeting the nation’s greenhouse gas reduction targets.   “By proactively advancing biotechnology, we can take bold and drastic action to tackle the climate crisis, bolster the climate investments made in IRA, and ensure the U.S. meets its emissions reduction goals,” wrote BIO President and CEO Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath in a letter to President Biden.   From swift implementation of tax credits for sustainable fuels and actions to increase federal procurement of biobased products, to leveraging the regulatory system to quickly deploy climate-positive biotechnologies and incentivize their use, BIO outlined several steps that federal agencies should take to complement the climate investments made by IRA and realize the full climate-positive potential of biotechnologies and bioproducts.   BIO staunchly opposed passage of IRA due to its damaging and counterproductive provision establishing government price controls on prescription drugs, which will erect barriers to developing much-needed new therapeutics and combating future pandemics. However, BIO also has acknowledged that the historic investments to tackle climate change will advance environmental and public health goals and encourage investment in the biotech industry’s agriculture and environment sector.   “Biotechnology is enabling a dramatic paradigm shift in the production of fuels and chemicals,” BIO wrote the president. “More biorefineries are converting domestic sources of renewable biomass, wastes, and residues into sustainable low carbon fuels, chemicals, and products.”   Actions the administration could take, according to BIO, to deploy biobased technologies and create more sustainable supply chains…