China's Biotech Advances Threaten US Dominance, Warns Congressional Report

China is moving fast to dominate biotechnology, and the U.S. risks falling behind permanently unless it takes action over the next three years, a congressional commission said. WSJ: Congress should invest at least $15 billion to support biotech research over the next five years and take other steps to bolster manufacturing in the U.S., while barring companies from working with Chinese biotech suppliers, the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology said in a report Tuesday. To achieve its goals, the federal government and U.S.-based researchers will also need to work with allies and partners around the world.

'China is quickly ascending to biotechnology dominance, having made biotechnology a strategic priority for 20 years,' the commission said. Without prompt action, the U.S. risks 'falling behind, a setback from which we may never recover.' The findings convey the depth of worry in Washington that China's rapid biotechnology advances jeopardize U.S. national security. Yet translating the concern into tangible actions could prove challenging.

China plays a large role supplying drug ingredients and even some generic medicines to the U.S. For years, it produced copycat versions of drugs developed in the West. Recent years have seen it become a formidable hub of biotechnology innovation, after the Chinese government gave priority to the field as a critical sector in China's efforts to become a scientific superpower.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.