Congressional biotech commission calls for $15B over 5 years to catch up to China
Over $1 billion would pass through the Pentagon, researching shelf-stable blood for casualties, new lubricants for engines, more powerful explosives, and more. Commission Chairman Sen. Todd Young hopes to get the first funds in the 2026 NDAA.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
on April 08, 2025 at 12:01 AM
WASHINGTON — China has spent two decades positioning its companies to dominate biotechnology, and now the US needs to pay up to catch up, a congressionally chartered commission warned today.
In a report released today that distills two years of research, the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology calls upon Congress to rescue America’s struggling biotech sector by investing $15 billion over the next five years. About $1.2 billion of the money would be funneled through the Defense Department budget, according to a detailed appendix to the report. Committee chairman Sen. Todd Young told reporters ahead of the release he was cautiously optimistic he could get his fellow legislators to include the recommendations when they write the defense policy and spending bills for 2026 later this year.
“The Chinese made biology a strategic priority two decades ago,” Young said. “In some areas of biology, they’ve already surpassed us. In other areas, on current trend lines, they will pass us … China has had a plan for two decades,” he continued. “We don’t have a plan. We have relied on the private sector.”
https://breakingdefense.com/2025/04/congressional-biotech-commission-calls-for-15b-over-5-years-to-catch-up-to-china/
