New CNAS Report Outlines Strategy to Secure U.S. Biotechnology Leadership

Washington, January 15, 2025 – Today, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) released a major new report, Biopower: Securing American Leadership in Biotechnology by Vivek Chilukuri and Hannah Kelley. The report identifies key strengths and challenges for U.S. biotechnology leadership, surveys biotechnology-leading nations abroad—with a particular focus on China—and outlines an ambitious strategy to help secure U.S. biotechnology leadership for a generation. For the first time, the report introduces the concept of “biopower”—a nation’s capacity to harness emerging biotechnologies to enhance national and economic security—and describes its vast potential applications for defense, health, energy, and food security.

“No country is better positioned to lead the biorevolution than the United States, but it requires that policymakers act now with swift, ambitious, and far-sighted steps to secure America’s place as the global biopower,” write Vivek Chilukuri and Hannah Kelley in the new report. “The stakes are a future of responsibly developed and deployed biotechnologies that unlock positive breakthroughs for human health, energy, agriculture, and defense, or a dystopian world of nonconsensual biosurveillance, reckless bioweapons development, and a frightening race to gain geostrategic advantage through population-wide genetic modification and human-computer integration.”

To secure the U.S. position as the global biopower, the report outlines an ambitious strategy for U.S. policymakers, industry, and allies:

• Invest in Research and Infrastructure: Expand investment in biotechnology-related R&D and infrastructure to scale a domestic biomanufacturing base and bridge funding gaps between biotech applications in medicine and health and other promising sectors, such as defense and energy;
• Expand Biotalent: Expand partnerships with secondary and post-secondary schools to build early interest in biotech careers and align curricula with market opportunities, expand internship and apprenticeship opportunities, and pursue targeted immigration reform to attract top biotalent worldwide;
• Unlock Biodata: Modernize rules and regulations governing biodata, securely consolidate biodata resources in a new American Biobank, and invest in privacy-preserving tech and cybersecurity for biodata platforms;
• Strengthen and Streamline Policy: Develop uniform biotech definitions and standards across the federal government and establish a consolidated office to harmonize biotech regulations wherever possible;
• Lead Globally: Fully exercise U.S. global leadership to responsibly harness emerging biotechnologies consistent with democratic values, convene a Global Biotechnology Safety and Opportunity Summit, modeled on the U.K.’s 2023 Bletchley AI Safety Summit, and expand joint research and investment through international partnerships, such as NATO, AUKUS, and the Quad; and
• Build Public Trust: Set an example to the world with a proactive public debate about responsible biotech R&D and applications to earn the public trust required for durable, long-term biotechnology investment and policy.

The report finds that the United States now stands as the preeminent biopower, propelled by an unrivaled innovation ecosystem, world-leading research institutes, unmatched private investment, top talent, and a global network of democratic partners and allies. At the same time, the report details China's concerted efforts to eclipse the U.S. position—pointing, for example, to its existing dominance in synthetic biology and pharmaceutical supply chains—and concludes that without bold new policy, investment, and partnership, Beijing is on track to succeed.

For more information or to arrange an interview with the report’s authors, please contact Alexa Whaley at [email protected].