On September 12, President Joe Biden issued an executive order, “Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy.”

The order outlines a “whole-of-government approach” to advance biotechnology and biomanufacturing towards innovative solutions in health, climate change, energy, food security, agriculture, supply chain resilience and national and economic security.

The executive order is part of the administration’s efforts to strengthen U.S.-based manufacturing and keep the country at the forefront of innovation in bioengineering.

In a press briefing, senior administration officials announced that on Wednesday (9/14), the White House will host a summit on the bioeconomy and biomanufacturing, during which the administration will announce new investments and resources across a wide range of agencies to support biotechnology and biomanufacturing.

In addition to federal investments, the initiative will include actions “to create more robust markets for bio-based products at home and globally to expand access to biotechnology and to translate research and development into vital products and services faster,” said the official.

The key areas of focus for the administration include:

• Strengthening supply chains and lowering prices through bio-based production of active pharmaceutical ingredients, biomanufacturing facilities that do not rely on foreign suppliers and biomining of rare earth elements. The goal of these efforts is to provide consumers access to products made in America at lower prices, even in times of global supply chain disruptions.
• Expanding domestic biomanufacturing capacity so more of what is invented in America is made in America.
• Facilitating more data sharing and data access to advance the development of biotechnology and the bioeconomy writ large.
• Creating jobs and growing the strength and diversity of the bioeconomy, including by supporting a diverse workforce and ensuring the benefits of these initiatives are distributed across the country.
• Expanding training and education opportunities in community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and other minority-serving institutions.
• Improving food security and driving agricultural innovation through new technologies that protect crops from disease, and enhance seeds and fertilizers and foods made with cultured animal cells.
• Creating personalized medicines, less invasive tools for disease detection, efficient vaccine and therapeutic manufacturing, and more effective and safer therapies.
• Reducing the impact of climate change on America’s families and workers, including through replacing foreign petrochemicals with locally produced bio-based chemicals, using biofuels to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and developing soil microbes and crops that remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.