Biden launches biotech initiative that would include plastics research

An executive order from President Joe Biden has launched a National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative that will impact plastics and other manufacturing sectors.

In a Sept. 12 news release from the White House, officials said that the initiative "will ensure we can make in the United States all that we invent in the United States."

They added that the initiative "will create jobs at home, build stronger supply chains, and lower prices for American families."

On Sept. 14, the White House will host a summit on the initiative during which cabinet agencies will announce new investments and resources that officials said will allow the U.S. to harness the full potential of biotechnology and biomanufacturing and advance the president's executive order.

"Global industry is on the cusp of an industrial revolution powered by biotechnology," officials said. The U.S. "has relied too heavily on foreign materials and bioproduction, and our past off-shoring of critical industries, including biotechnology, threatens our ability to access materials like important chemicals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. …Yet, bioeconomy remains an American strength — as well as a huge opportunity."

They added that sectors that can benefit from the initiative include plastics, medicines and fuels. Advances in biotechnology can provide an alternative to petrochemical-based production in plastics, fuels, materials, and medicines, officials said.

Industry analysis suggests that bioengineering could account for more than a third of global output of manufacturing industries before the end of the decade — almost $30 trillion in terms of value.

Specific steps taken by the initiative include:

• Growing domestic biomanufacturing capacity. This initiative will build, revitalize, and secure national infrastructure for biomanufacturing across America, including through investments in regional innovation and enhanced bio-education.

• Expand market opportunities for bio-based products. The BioPreferred Program provides an alternative to petroleum-based products and supporting good-paying jobs for American workers. The initiative will increase mandatory bio-based purchasing by federal agencies, including through training and support for contracting officers.

• Drive R&D to solve challenges. Focused government support for biotechnology can quickly produce solutions, officials said, as seen with the first-of-their-kind mRNA vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. This initiative directs Federal agencies to identify priority R&D needs to translate bioscience and biotechnology discoveries into medical breakthroughs, climate change solutions, food and agricultural innovation, and stronger U.S. supply chains.

• Train a Diverse Skilled Workforce. The Initiative will expand training and education opportunities for all Americans in biotechnology and biomanufacturing, with a focus on advancing racial and gender equity and support for talent development in underserved communities.

• Streamline regulations for products of biotechnology. The initiative will improve the clarity and efficiency of the regulatory process for products of biotechnology so that valuable inventions and products can come to market faster without sacrificing safety.

In a Sept. 12 press briefing, a senior administration official said that living factories and biomass "can be used to make almost anything that we use in our day-to-day lives, from medicines to fuels to plastics. …This allows the U.S. to leverage innovation to strengthen our economy and society."

The official also cited bio-based plastics and chemicals used in industrial processes — as well as bio-based rubber for tires — as products that could be developed and promoted by the initiative.

"The challenge has been [that] we may lead in the bioengineering and synthetic biology," the official added. "But if a company, especially a smaller company that doesn't have the ability to manufacture everything in house, it would have to go abroad unless we really expand the biomanufacturing base and infrastructure here in the United States."