The National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB), a US legislative commission, issued a report last week (April 8, 2025) that outlined an action plan for improving US competitiveness in biotechnology for national security and economic purposes. The NSCEB’s main recommendation is that the US government dedicate at least $15 billion over the next five years to encourage more private capital into the US national biotechnology sector. In response to the report, four members of Congress have introduced the National Biotechnology Initiative Act, to realize an action plan put forth by the report.  

NSCEB was formed in 2022 under the National Defense Authorization Act. It is composed of Congressionally appointed Commissioners from a bipartisan group of members from the US Senate and the US House of Representatives as well as representatives from industry, academia, and government. 

In its report, the NSCEB calls for “strategic federal action that encourages innovation by spurring private investment. This includes targeted investments and strategic government reforms to reduce regulatory bottlenecks” as a means to improve US competitiveness in biotechnology.  

“The United States is locked in a competition with China that will define the coming century,” NSCEB Chair Senator Todd Young (R-IN), said in an April 8, 2025, NSCEB statement. “Biotechnology is the next phase in that competition. It is no longer constrained to the realm of scientific achievement. It is now an imperative for national security, economic power, and global influence.”  

The NSCEB report asserts that “the United States’ growing dependence on China for numerous critical supply chain elements is a national security vulnerability. Biotechnology can be the key to increasing supply chain security, resilience, and scalability by allowing the US to control its own access to critical components.” 

The NSCEB report lays out six main areas for action and makes 49 recommendations. These six main areas are: (1) prioritize biotechnology at the national level; (2) mobilize the private sector to get US products to scale; (3) maximize the benefits of biotechnology for defense; (4) out-innovate strategic competitors; (5) build the biotechnology workforce of the future; and (6) mobilize the collective strengths of US allies and partners. The report points to the use of biotechnology not only in healthcare applications, but in other areas, including agriculture, industrial applications, manufacturing, and defense.  

In response to the report, four members of the NSCEB have jointly introduced legislation, the National Biotechnology Initiative Act, which would establish a National Biotechnology Coordination Office (NBCO) within the Executive Office of the President to lead and coordinate federal biotechnology efforts. The NBCO would be charged with “streamlining  biotechnology regulation to ease regulatory burdens on well-understood products, negotiate interagency agreements to describe clear regulatory pathways, and work with the Office of Management and Budget in cases of disagreement,” said the NSCEB in an April 9, 2025, statement, in announcing the proposed legislation. The NBCO would also be charged with publishing a national biotechnology strategy every five years. 

The proposed legislation also calls for establishing a Principal Advisor to the President for Biotechnology, who would also serve as Director of the Coordination Office, and creating an Interagency Committee to coordinate across federal departments and agencies to define roles and responsibilities for all federal departments and agencies engaged in biotechnology.  

The sponsors of the bill are NSCEB Chair Senator Todd Young (R-IN) and NSCEB Commissioners Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Representative Stephanie Bice (R-OK), and Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA). 

The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), which represents US-based biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, supports the findings of the NSCEB report. “The report provides us with a roadmap to unlock private investment in biotechnology and protect the health and security of the American people for generations to come,” said John F. Crowley, President and CEO of BIO, in an April 8, 2025, statement. “Working together, the US government, academia and the private sector have the power to ensure that American biotech out-innovates the competition, grows our economy, and speeds progress that transforms scientific discoveries into real-world products and solutions.” 

Source: National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) report, NSCEB April 8, 2025 press statement, NSCEB April 9, 2025 press statement, and BIO statement.