U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday signed an executive order to boost domestic biomanufacturing and slash his country’s reliance on China for new medicines, chemicals and other products.
The move comes shortly after Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act ended subsidies for foreign-made electric cars.
“The United States 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,” the White House said.
According to the U.S. government, the value of biotechnology production is expected to reach US$30 trillion by 2030. The Chinese government has been nurturing the bio industry as a new strategic sector since 2015 under a master plan called “Made in China 2025.”
The U.S. is the biggest market, accounting for 61 percent, so biotech companies will have to secure a solid footing there if they want a slice. But facilities, labor and operating costs are higher in the U.S. and have put Korean biotech companies off.
Samsung Biologics has been looking at possible sites for a plant there but has yet to reach a conclusion. Acquiring U.S.-based bio companies is another option. Lotte Biologics recently acquired Bristol-Myers Squibb based in Syracuse, New York. One bio industry source said, “Just like the semiconductor industry, some support and incentives like subsidies will be necessary.”
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