Symposium (June 9): How biomanufacturing strengthens U.S. supply chains and competitiveness

Leaders from government, industry, academia and investment came together to discuss how to build on existing biotechnology successes, and ensure that biotechnology innovations reach the market at the speed required to maintain U.S. competitiveness.

Countries around the world are investing heavily in biotechnology and advanced manufacturing. As competition intensifies, the United States faces a critical challenge: ensuring that industrial biotechnologies can be manufactured, scaled and deployed domestically. 

Meeting that challenge will require coordinated action across research, investment, regulation, and manufacturing. To explore how the United States can accelerate commercialization, expand domestic manufacturing capacity and strengthen its global competitiveness, more than 75 leaders from government, industry, academia and the investment community gathered on June 9 for the Manufacturing Biosolutions to Strengthen Supply Chains Symposium, convened by the American Alliance for Biomanufacturing (AAB) in partnership with Triple Helix Institute and Georgetown University's Earth Commons. 

Centered on economic and supply chain resilience, national security, domestic manufacturing capacity and regulatory modernization, the discussions focused on what it will take to move cutting-edge biotechnology from research and development to commercial deployment at the speed needed to strengthen American competitiveness. 

The program featured leaders from across government, industry, academia and the innovation ecosystem, including representatives from the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), ARPA-E, the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR), XPRIZE, Georgetown University's Earth Commons, Triple Helix Institute, Pratt Institute, and the Office of U.S. Senator Roger Marshall.

Why this moment matters 

The symposium opened with a keynote conversation led by Caitlin Frazer, Executive Director of the NSCEB, examining biotechnology's growing role in economic competitiveness, national resilience and America's position in an increasingly competitive global landscape.

"Although the United States has enjoyed decades of leadership in biotechnology - in many ways biotech is an American invention - we are at real risk of losing that leading edge to other countries, particularly China."

Caitlin Frazer 

Executive Director 

NSCEB 

Turning discovery into economic growth requires coordinated policy, investment, manufacturing infrastructure, regulatory clarity, a skilled workforce, and public confidence. 

Those themes shaped discussions throughout the day. Speakers explored the interconnected challenges of commercialization, regulatory modernization, and manufacturing scale-up. Discussions on market adoption and consumer interest focused on what determines whether promising biotechnology innovations achieve broad commercial use and deliver economic impact. 

From research to scale  

Drawing on perspectives from agricultural research, energy innovation, and technology prize competitions, the discussion highlighted the importance of sustained investment, public-private partnerships, and translational research to accelerate breakthrough technologies from the laboratory to the marketplace. The conversation also reinforced the importance of maintaining a strong innovation pipeline, from university laboratories and federal research programs to industrial R&D and commercial development. Participants emphasized that continued investment in foundational science, coupled with collaboration across sectors, is essential to delivering the next generation of biotechnology breakthroughs and ensuring they can be translated into real-world impact. 

"It was great to collaborate with AAB and Georgetown on this symposium to highlight both the opportunities and challenges emerging biotechnology innovations encounter as they move from discovery to scaled deployment. This important convening made clear that the future of biotechnology and biomanufacturing depends not only on what we invent, but on how effectively we work together across sectors to implement it." 

Sarah Garland, PhD 

Founder & Executive Director 

Triple Helix Institute for Agriculture, Climate, and Society 

Modernizing the regulatory framework 

As biotechnology continues to advance, participants emphasized that regulatory systems must evolve alongside innovation. A panel featuring representatives from the USDA, EPA and FDA federal agencies explored how modern, science-based oversight can support both responsible innovation and timely commercialization. They also examined opportunities to improve regulatory predictability, coordination, and transparency while maintaining oversight. 

Participants agreed that the U.S. Coordinated Framework remains the right foundation for regulating biotechnology. At the same time, they emphasized that its implementation should continue to evolve, so regulation can keep pace with scientific advances while maintaining rigorous, science-based oversight. 

Clear agency roles, strong interagency coordination, and transparent decision making are essential to implementing the framework effectively. Regulatory decisions should focus on a product's characteristics and intended use, rather than the technology used to develop it. That level of predictability helps attract investment, strengthen domestic manufacturing, and bring new bio-based products to market while maintaining rigorous safety standards. 

"The United States already has a strong foundation in the Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology. The next step is ensuring its implementation keeps pace with today's technologies. Developers need clear, coordinated, and risk-proportionate regulatory pathways to invest in domestic manufacturing and bring innovative products to market. At the same time, transparent, science-based regulation builds the consumer confidence needed for new technologies to succeed. Foreign competitors have treated biotechnology as a national strategic priority for nearly two decades. We are encouraged to see this priority reflected in the National Biotechnology Initiative Act, which would strengthen federal coordination and help position biotechnology as a core pillar of U.S. competitiveness." 

Dr. Leah Buchman 

Regulatory Policy Lead, North America 

Novonesis 

Strengthening supply chains and manufacturing capacity 

The symposium also explored how biotechnology and biomanufacturing can strengthen domestic production and reduce supply chain vulnerabilities across critical sectors, including agriculture, food, health, energy and industrial manufacturing. 

Participants discussed how recent disruptions have underscored the need for more resilient systems that can adapt quickly while maintaining access to essential products and inputs. In food and agriculture, technologies like bio-fertilizers can support more reliable production, improve input efficiency, strengthen food system resilience, and give farmers, manufacturers, and consumers greater confidence in the stability of domestic supply chains. 

Speakers emphasized that the ability to manufacture and deploy biotechnology at scale is both a commercial advantage and a strategic capability that will help determine whether the United States leads the next generation of biological innovation. 

Looking ahead 

The symposium concluded with a focus on implementation. Participants emphasized that maintaining U.S. leadership in biotechnology will require sustained collaboration across government, industry, academia, and the investment community to translate strategy into action.   

Discussions centered on advancing the recommendations of the NSCEB, including streamlining biotechnology regulation, supporting domestic biomanufacturing, and creating a more predictable environment for biotechnology innovation. Participants also highlighted the importance of establishing a National Biotechnology Coordination Office (NBCO) and advancing the National Biotechnology Initiative Act (NBIA) to provide a durable, whole-of-government framework for biotechnology policy.