NatSec & Biotech #2: The four-trillion-dollar question
FAS on trust in bioeconomy, US-China biotech "divorce," India-Canada science collab, CRISPR crops in Africa
Welcome to the NatSec & Biotech Update: a newsletter on the intersection of biotechnologies and international relations.
In this edition:
USA
Federation of American Scientists on how to build trust in the U.S. bioeconomy, forecast to grow to $4 trillion in 10-20 years
U.S. biotech braces for “protracted divorce” from China due to security concerns
Indiana Sen. Todd Young talks biotech and national security in West Lafayette
U.S. agricultural production has tripled since 1948 with stable inputs
India and Canada discuss science and tech collaboration, including on bioeconomy
Africa: El País on the expansion of gene-edited crops in African countries
USA
Report: How to build trust in the bioeconomy (FAS)
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) has released a paper on how to increase trust in the bioeconomy (the part of the economy based on biotech).
The promise of the bioeconomy is massive with new jobs, enhanced supply chains, novel technologies, and sustainable bioproducts. The U.S. bioeconomy is currently valued at around $1 trillion and is projected to grow to $4 trillion over the next 10-20 years.
The paper argues public trust is the key to maintaining U.S. leadership in the bioeconomy, consumer confidence, and the growth of the sector.
Recent failures of the federal regulatory system for biotechnology threaten public trust, and recent regulations have been criticized for their lack of transparency.
FAS recommends establishing a Bioeconomy Initiative Coordination Office (BICO) as a hub for both interagency coordination and engagement with the public, industry, academia, and other stakeholders. It should be housed within the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
The BICO would coordinate bioeconomy-related efforts that reach across multiple domains and ensure a durable and long-term approach to the bioeconomy. The biotech regulatory space is currently shared between three key agencies: the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Department of Agriculture (USDA).
FAS argues that because bioeconomy cuts across sectors (agriculture, health, materials, energy…) regulatory policy coherence and alignment among these sectors are needed to maximize the bioeconomy and fulfil its potential for national competitiveness.
FAS also recommends establishing a process for public engagement and producing a large repository of public acceptance data.
U.S. biotech braces for “protracted divorce” from China (Bioprocess Online)
Matthew Pillar, editor of Bioprocess Online, writes that U.S. biotech is in for a “protracted divorce from China” due to national security concerns.
Lawmakers are proposing legislation that would put access to Chinese biopharma, one of the largest and fastest-growing sources of biopharmaceutical raw materials and manufacturing capacity in the world, largely off-limits.
Led by Representatives Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), the U.S. House Select Committee on China’s proposed Biosecure Act would prohibit federally funded institutions from doing business with biotechs that are labeled “of concern” in foreign adversary nations.
WuXi AppTec, one of the companies concerned and a major supplier to the U.S., has responded by way of its home page (www.wuxiapptec.com), which now greets visitors with a letter from company leaders reassuring customers that WuXi poses no national security risk to any state.
Chinese genetic research juggernaut BGI Group (formerly “Beijing Genomics Institute”) was also singled out, primarily over fears that it is sharing genetic data with the the People’s Liberation Army. The Committee also accuses BGI of links to human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
The proposed act would cut off federal funding and contract opportunities to any U.S. biotech contracting “equipment designed for the research, development, production, or analysis of biological materials as well as any software, firmware, or other digital components” from Chinese “companies of concern.” That includes advising or consulting services.
According to Nikkei China, the U.S. imported $6.95 billion worth of pharmaceuticals from China in 2022 alone.
Given rising demand for biomanufacturing, Pillar argues the U.S. is “not ready to fly solo” without support from Chinese biotechs.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. has pushed to “nearshore” supply chains, notably with President Joe Biden’s National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative (pledging $2 billion for biomanufacturing) and the CHIPS and Science Act.
Korean medical device companies are looking to benefit from the U.S.-China split.
The Chinese Communist Party’s China Daily warned “U.S. hawks [are] put[ting] their egos before people’s health.”
Rachel King, CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), the world’s largest biotech trade association, has warned the legislation would “do untold damage to the drug development supply chain both for treatments currently approved and on market as well as for development pipelines decades in the making.”
Reps. Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi visited Taiwan recently in a show of support for the island. During the trip, Rep. Gallagher said the proposed legislation may be “more narrowly tailored,” focusing primarily on BGI and secondarily WuXi.
Indiana Sen. Todd Young talks biotech and national security in West Lafayette (WLFI)
Senator Todd Young (R-IN) visited West Lafayette, Indiana, to learn more about the state’s life sciences economy and maintain national security competitiveness.
Sen. Young said the crop biotech Inari may be useful to national security: “We want to make sure our warfighters regardless of the conditions they’re in have access to safe food stuffs. Inari has technology that might help with that.”
He also argued that agricultural biotech can reduce food insecurity and instability worldwide: “In less developed regions of the world, many of which are prone to instability, you can grow crops, people can feed themselves, and therefore, become less unstable.”
Sen. Young said he wants federal policy to make the conditions for more biotech startups to be possible and encouraged graduates to work in the sector.
Video (may be inaccessible in the EU due to unwillingness to comply with GDPR).
U.S. agricultural productivity has tripled since 1948 (BIO)
A report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) has found that the country’s agricultural output grew 190% between 1948 and 2021, while inputs have been stable thanks to biotech and other technologies.
The ERS said: “Though GE [gene-edited] seeds tend to be more expensive than conventional ones, planting them tends to increase crop yields, lower pesticide costs, and/or provide time and labor savings.”
The most common kinds of GE seeds are herbicide tolerant and crops containing a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to produce an insecticidal protein.
Herbicide-resistant crops reduce the amount of weeding and tilling necessary, and the Bt crops reduce the need for insecticide, so inputs decrease while the better-protected crops are more productive according to the ERS.
Another ERS report highlighted the benefits of GE corn: “New seed technologies helped increase corn production in several ways. Farmers were able to plant corn seed more densely and earlier in the growing season. In addition, producers expanded corn acreage as pest resistance and drought tolerance allowed for profitable production in previously challenging regions.”
India-Canada
India and Canada discuss science-tech collaboration, including on bioeconomy (Deccan Herald)
A high-level Canadian delegation led by Scott Moe, Premier of Saskatchewan Province, held discussions with Indian Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh on partnerships.
These possible areas for partnerships include clean technologies, bioeconomy, bio-based materials, food and agriculture, and affordable healthcare.
Minister Singh mentioned the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA), an initiative launched by India at the G20 summit in New Delhi last year. GBA brings together the biggest consumers and producers of biofuels to drive development and deployment.
Premier Moe highlighted the growing relationship between India and Saskatchewan, with the opening of a new provincial office in New Delhi and strong cooperation in research.
Africa
“In Kenya, Nigeria, and Malawi, gene-editing is saving crops” (El País)
Writing in Spanish newspaper El País, science and tech journalist Javier Sampedro reports on the “incredible results” of GE crop projects in Africa.
Sorghum, an essential crop in many African countries, is suffering from an invasion of the parasitic plant Striga hermonthica (witchweed), with 60% of fields affected.
African scientists are addressing the problem with CRISPR gene-editing, with field trials to begin this year. The project was presented by molecular biologist Steven Runo of Kenyatta University, Nairobi, in January at the Plant & Animal Genome Conference held in San Diego, California.
Sampedro highlights the cheapness and ease of use of CRISPR compared to previous genetic modification techniques: “This allows any country to modify seeds to solve its local problems — be they pests or nutritional deficiencies — instead of depending on those generated by a few multinationals.”
The author argues that “what we’re talking about now has nothing to do with Monsanto — rather, it has to do with human health and bolstering nutritional security in developing countries.
Sampedro argues that African and Asian countries will increasingly use genetic-editing due to the perceived benefits to nutrition for people and livestock.
Researchers working in Africa and Asia have set up projects to generate corn resistant to necrosis, pearl millet immune to oxidation shortly after grinding, peanuts resistant to infection by carcinogenic fungi, and cows that produce more milk despite high temperatures.
Sampedro praises Greenpeace’s activism on nuclear waste and climate change, but argues that on genetic modification it has made a historic mistake.
Norman Borlaug, the father of the Green Revolution who passed away in 2009, is quoted from a previous interview with El País: “environmentalists oppose GMOs because their bellies are full.”
Other biotech policy news
Global first: Australia and New Zealand approve disease-resistant GM banana for consumption (Cosmos)
Report: global agricultural productivity not keeping up with rising demand (GAP)
“With climate change disruptions of farming and food escalating, scientists look to resilient ancient plant varieties as a possible safety net” (Genetic Literacy Project)