The Emerging Reach of the Bioeconomy
On Tuesday, 4/8/25, the bipartisan National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) released their findings on how the U.S. can support and bolster the emerging bioeconomy sector. This sector, which includes biotechnology and biomanufacturing, is increasingly important to scientists working across disciplines – and will continue to shape the economic fortunes of regions across the country.
FAS looks forward to dissecting, advancing, and advocating for the Commission’s report. FAS has been active and influential in this sector and has worked with various stakeholders and experts to advance evidence-based policy recommendations to boost the U.S. bioeconomy (more below). While the report provides an essential starting point to grow and secure our biotechnology and biomanufacturing enterprise, it will be important to advocate for the recommendations found within it, but also to add and refine recommendations to meet the ever evolving U.S. bioeconomy.
FAS is especially enthusiastic about the recommendations that emphasize prioritizing and advancing biotechnology at the national level, ensuring the U.S. maintains its innovation edge. We also strongly support the recommendations aimed at scaling biotechnologies and biomanufacturing by fostering private sector growth and leveraging various financial mechanisms. These recommendations are crucial in addressing some of the most urgent challenges facing the U.S. bioeconomy and will serve as a vital step toward establishing a dynamic and adaptable national strategy for the sector. See our policy statement for more details.
Cautious and Enthusiastic Interest
While FAS is optimistic of the impact that this report can have, it is also important for FAS to be cautious around national security issues due to our 80 year old legacy. FAS began in response to how new technologies (nuclear) could be used for war (nuclear weapons). Today we remain watchful of technologies with the potential of misuse. FAS team members involved with national security take an understandably cautionary approach. The confluence of technology and access mean that there is risk associated with bio-products, too. “This opportunity must also be balanced with a clear-eyed understanding that increasing economic competition, heating geopolitics, and advancing life sciences capabilities may change how countries and other actors view the utility of globally repugnant capabilities such as biological weapons.” said Yong-Bee Lim, Associate Director of Global Risk at the Federation of American Scientists.
The report details the importance of safeguarding the biotechnology and biomanufacturing enterprise to remain competitive at the global scale, especially with China (recall the recent semiconductor shortages). However, “it’ll be important to balance both innovation capabilities and risk as we work towards ensuring that the U.S. bioeconomy is a priority area for both the Nation and for National Security.” said Nazish Jeffery, Bioeconomy Policy Manager at the Federation of American Scientists.
Bioeconomy Presents Significant Opportunities
Still, FAS continues advocating and promoting this area with great enthusiasm. The nascent bioeconomy is more than just leading edge biology meets computational gains. There are a myriad of scientific, economic, and social benefits to be had by leveraging this new industry.
No one at FAS knows this better than Nazish Jeffery, who spearheaded efforts to understand this moment. For more than two years she has worked with biologists, technologists, policymakers and biotechnology companies to investigate how the U.S. can maintain competitiveness while distributing economic rewards equitably domestically.
FAS sponsored policy sprints, which are open calls for participants in academia and industry to submit and develop actionable policy memos that address a particular issue or sector. The goal is to infuse diverse perspectives and expertise into policy that improves lives for all Americans. Since the start of the Commission’s investigations, FAS has sponsored policy sprints on topics such as the intersection of biology and artificial intelligence, as well as a sprint soliciting ideas to grow the bioeconomy sector itself.
This emerging technology sector brought in $210 billion into the U.S. economy in 2023, and is projected to grow to $400 billion by 2030. The economic potential of the bioeconomy is significant; policymakers should promote and work in partnership with industry to continue development in distributed regions across the U.S. to invigorate innovation and enable job creation. This opportunity must also be balanced with a clear-eyed understanding that increasing economic competition, heating geopolitics, and advancing life sciences capabilities may change how countries and other actors view the utility of globally repugnant capabilities such as biological weapons.
FAS interviewed, worked with, or sought input from numerous academics, technologists, bio-industry leaders, elected representatives, and organizations, to understand the full spectrum of the value chain and push forward the best ideas.
FAS invites you to take a look at what possibilities lay ahead, presented below.
Bioeconomy Policy Sprint
The FAS Bioeconomy Sprint produced actionable policy memos to strengthen the bioeconomy in concert with outside expertise, including:
- A Matter of Trust: Helping the Bioeconomy Reach Its Full Potential with Translational Governance by Christopher Gilliespie
- BioNETWORK: The Internet of Distributed Biomanufacturing by Justin C. Sanchez
- Coordinating the U.S. Government Approach to the Bioeconomy by Sarah R. Carter
- Strengthening the U.S. Biomanufacturing Sector Through Standardization by Chris Stowers
- Accelerating Biomanufacturing and Producing Cost-Effective Amino Acids through a Grand Challenge by Allison Berke
- Project BOoST: A Biomanufacturing Test Facility Network for Bioprocess Optimization, Scaling, and Training by Ed Chung & Charles Fracchia
- Advancing the U.S. Bioindustrial Production Sector by Michael Fisher
- Accelerating Bioindustry Through Research, Innovation, and Translation by Jon Roberts
Bioeconomy x AI Policy Sprint
Artificial intelligence continues to develop exponentially; these recommendations can scale alongside AI and deliver substantial benefits:
- Develop a Screening Framework Guidance for AI-Enabled Automated Labs by Tessa Alexanian
- An Evidence-Based Approach to Identifying and Mitigating Biological Risks From AI-Enabled Biological Tools by Richard Moulange & Sophie Rose
- A Path to Self-governance of AI-Enabled Biology by Oliver Crook
- A Global Compute Cloud to Advance Safe Science and Innovation by Samuel Curtis
- Establish Collaboration Between Developers of Gene Synthesis Screening Tools and AI Tools Trained on Biological Data by Shrestha Rath
- Responsible and Secure AI in Production Agriculture by Jennifer Clarke
Additional Bioeconomy Research
Given the ongoing cost curve declines of compute, increased access to data, and growing interest in this emerging sector, FAS continues to investigate a range of related topics. Some recent work includes:
- Understanding the U.S. Bioeconomy: Agency Perspectives
- The U.S. Bioeconomy Needs Biomass, But What Is It and How Do We Use It?
- The Importance of Standards for the U.S. Bioeconomy & National Security: A Conversation with Congressman Jake Auchincloss
- Bold Goals Require Bold Funding Levels. The FY25 Requests for the U.S. Bioeconomy Fall Short
- Regulations, funding, and knowledge gaps: Challenges and opportunities in bringing agricultural biotechnology to market
- The U.S. Bioeconomy is Not Yet Sustainable. Here’s What Needs to Change.
- Implementing the Bioeconomy Executive Order: Lessons Learned and Future Considerations
- Wins, Gaps, & Looking Forward in the U.S. Bioeconomy
- “The US needs to lean into an old strength”: Maintaining Progress and Growing US Biomanufacturing
FAS will continue to work in this important area. Ongoing work related to the U.S. bioeconomy will be regularly updated here: https://fas.org/initiative/bioeconomy/
It’s paramount to balance both innovation capabilities and risk as we work towards ensuring that the U.S. bioeconomy is a priority area for both the Nation and for National Security.
The Federation of American Scientists supports the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology’s Final Report and the Recommendations contained within it.
The U.S. should create a new non-governmental Innovation Accelerator modeled after the successful In-Q-Tel program to invest in small and mid-cap companies creating technologies that address critical needs of the United States.
To sustain America’s leadership in AI innovation, accelerate adoption across the economy, and guarantee that AI systems remain secure and trustworthy, we offer a set of policy recommendations.