A bipartisan federal commission has called the engineering of biological systems the next transformative leap for human potential. This includes discovering new medicines, creating hardy, fruitful plants and manufacturing products based on organic structures.
But the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology said in its new report that the government’s approach to research lacks coordination and needs better leadership.
California Senator Alex Padilla, a graduate of MIT, was a member of the commission. He says America's global rival China has invested heavily in biotech and they’ve come to dominate some of its fields.
“China now controls 80% of global pharmaceuticals. So that’s why we say we need a molecular moonshot to get ahead and stay ahead,” Padilla said.
The commission has introduced legislation to promote federal coordination on emerging biotechnology and streamline the regulatory structures currently inhibiting biotechnology innovation.
In the report, they have encouraged better funding of biotechnology, at a time when the Trump administration has been cutting funds for scientific research. Padilla is calling on Congress to step up to make it happen.
“We’re urging Congress to jump at this opportunity — in my opinion — a responsibility to write the rules of the road for biotech because if we don’t somebody else will and they will not have the interest of the United State first and foremost in their minds,” Padilla said.
Kit Pogliano is dean of biological sciences at UC San Diego. She said she loves the idea of a biotech moonshot, because this is precisely the right time to invest in bioengineering.
“We’re seeing instruments developed that accelerate the kinds of discoveries, so we can see how things work in more detail in living organisms,” Pogliano said, adding that artificial intelligence has also accelerated discovery.
“You put the two together and AI is like throwing gasoline on the fire. It’s not a positive metaphor but it’s really apt, because they’re very synergistic.”
Pogliano said she agrees with Padilla. We should be concerned about other countries investing heavily in biotech.
“Other nations are doing this. They are nipping at our heels or perhaps even passing us. Because when you’re at a time when discovery and translation is accelerating, and you keep going at the same pace you’re not injecting enough energy into the system to deliver things to market at your highest capabilities,” she said.
The commission’s report advocates for the creation of a National Biotechnology Coordination Office, whose director would be appointed by the president.
Another Dean at UCSD, Al Pisano who heads the Jacobs School of Engineering, didn’t comment on the details in the report. But he said the government could do a better job giving a purpose and giving guidance to its support and funding.
“If you had some sort of commission to coordinate federal efforts, so that they would give you all the different colors of money all the way from the fundamentals to the pilot plant and beyond, can you imagine how much faster you could bring that technology to market,” Pisano said.
Pogliano said she wished the report had paid more attention to the fundamental research, the discoveries that come from scientific curiosity. It’s the kind of research the Trump administration has not encouraged by making cuts to places like the National Institutes of Health.
