NatSec & Biotech #4: the food issue
Senate moves vs. Chinese biotechs, agricultural production infographics, FAO launches Bioeconomy Dashboard, Bayer glyphosate trials...
Welcome to the NatSec & Biotech Update: a newsletter on the intersection of biotechnologies and international relations.
In this edition:
U.S. Senate committee approves bill against Chinese biotechs
Our World in Data on the need to improve agricultural productivity
FAO launches Global Bioeconomy Dashboard
Bayer turning the tide in its Monsanto-inherited glyphosate trials?
USA
Senate committee approves bill against Chinese biotechs (Reuters)
The U.S. Senate’s homeland security committee voted to approve a bill that could restrict business with Chinese biotech companies like BGI and WuXi AppTec on national security grounds.
The bill is designed to keep Americans’ personal health and genetic information from foreign adversaries. It has spurred deep concern among investors, driving a sell-off in the shares of WuXi AppTec.
The bill has a long way to go before becoming law, and could change considerably along the way.
WuXi AppTec generates more than half of its sales from its U.S. business and operates facilities across the country including in Georgia, Pennsylvania and California, as well as a new campus set to open in Delaware.
WuXi and BGI have so far unsuccessfully argued that their names should be stripped from the bill. The bill was however amended to exempt preexisting contracts and agreements.
The committee voted 11-1 to move the draft legislation forward. The bill must pass in both the full Senate and the House before signature by the President.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) was the sole “no” vote and said that senators were “taking advantage of anger towards China to do sort of parochial protectionist things for their particular state.” He also voiced concerns about the effect the bill could have on the biotech supply chain for U.S. companies.
The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), a trade association representing biotech companies, had urged the committee to reconsider.
“Explicitly naming companies for punitive measures establishes a precedent whereby companies can ... be punished without necessary and appropriate review,” BIO CEO Rachel King wrote in a letter to federal representatives.
A companion bill introduced in the House accuses BGI, a genomics company, of posing a threat to U.S. national security through collection of genetic data.
Complete Genomics, a company based in San Jose, California, said there is no basis for its inclusion in the bill, which it said will foster a monopoly in the U.S. genomic sequencing instrument market.
There are concerns actions against Chinese biotech will reduce Americans’ access to innovative weight loss drugs.
The People’s Daily Online reported on Chinese critics of the U.S. moves. “This is another typical case that US politicians purposely make China an 'imagined enemy’ to step up suppression on Chinese companies for their own political gains, as the U.S. presidential election draws near,” Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade.”
“What U.S. politicians are concerned is that they cannot live in a world led by Chinese companies and they have come up with every excuse to hinder China’s development in a wide range of industrial sectors including telecommunications, new-energy vehicles and now biotechnology,” Li said.
“The US overstretches the concept of national security, falsely accuses China of purchasing Americans’ personal and sensitive data for malicious activities, and prevents the transfer of data to so-called ‘countries of concern’ including China,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press conference.
“The Chinese government takes data privacy and security very seriously. We have never asked and will never ask any company or individual to collect or provide data, information or intelligence located abroad against local laws for the Chinese government,” Mao added.
Other biotech policy news
Why is improving agricultural productivity crucial to ending global hunger and protecting the world’s wildlife? (Our World in Data)
Popular website Our World in Data argues the issue of land use does not get the attention it deserves. Because of population growth and environmental constraints, the world needs to grow more food with less land.
With the modernization of agriculture, yields have increased substantially. Sixty years ago, farmers produced around 1 tonne of wheat per hectare of land. Since then it has increased to 3.5 tonnes: wheat yields have increased 3.5-fold.
Yield gaps continue to exist for different crops in different regions. Adopting technologies like irrigation, fertilizers, and better seeds may increase yields.
Big gains could also be made by reducing meet consumption: 77% of all agricultural land is use to raise livestock for meat and dairy.
FAO launches Global Bioeconomy Dashboard (FAO)
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has launched the Global Bioeconomy Dashboard, a platform that supporting bioeconomy strategies.
The Dashboard displays the latest information on national and regional bioeconomy strategies and shows how they align with environmental objectives.
“This innovative platform serves as a centralized repository of the most up-to-date information from around the world,” said the FAO’s Dr. Lev Neretin. “It will support countries in addressing the interconnected challenges now facing the planet and its people, by providing comprehensive insights into bioeconomy strategies and how they contribute to addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, and agrifood system transformation.”
The Dashboard shows which economic sectors each country prioritizes while developing a national bioeconomy.
The Dashboard draws on data from diverse sources, including FAO country and regional offices, external partners and counterparts, international experts, conferences, publications, websites, and news.
The developers consider the platform an open-source archive and invite users to contact bioeconomy@fao.org with comments and suggestions.
“Bayer notches more wins in Roundup weedkiller cancer trials” (Reuters)
German pharma and biotech giant Bayer won a trial in a lawsuit brought by a retired postal service worker in Pennsylvania who alleged he developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma from using the company’s Roundup weedkiller.
Bayer also said a California farmer, who said he contracted the same type of cancer from exposure to the product, and his wife have voluntarily dropped their lawsuit while a trial was underway in the in a state California court.
These victories come on the heels of another trial win for the company in Arkansas. Bayer has won in 13 of the last 20 Roundup trials.
Plaintiffs have scored large verdicts totaling more than $4 billion, including $2.25 billion in a single case in January. Bayer is appealing its trial losses, which include large punitive damages awards likely to be reduced because they exceed U.S. Supreme Court guidance.
Around 165,000 claims have been brought in the U.S. against Bayer over Roundup, which the company acquired as part of its $63 billion purchase of U.S. agrochemical company Monsanto in 2018. Many were resolved as part of a $9.6 billion settlement in 2020, but about 54,000 remain.
The company phased out sales of glyphosate products for home use last year, though it still sells other formulations under the Roundup name.