The aim is to create a ‘sustainable, safe and secure American bioeconomy’. Among the goals outlined are ethical and responsible uses of biotechnology and biomanufacturing; and measures to reduce biological risks associated with advances in biosecurity.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the vital role of biotechnology and biomanufacturing in developing and producing life-saving diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines that protect Americans and the world,” says the president.
“Although the power of these technologies is most vivid at the moment in the context of human health, biotechnology and biomanufacturing can also be used to achieve our climate and energy goals, improve food security and sustainability, secure our supply chains, and grow the economy across all of America.”
Driving R&D
The executive order outlines policies to ‘bolster and coordinate Federal investment in key research and development (R&D) areas of biotechnology and biomanufacturing in order to further societal goals’.
It also wants to ‘foster a biological data ecosystem that advances biotechnology and biomanufacturing innovations, while adhering to principles of security, privacy and responsible conduct of research’.
Furthermore, it wants to improved and expand domestic biomanufacturing production capacity and processes, while also increasing piloting and prototyping efforts in biotechnology and biomanufacturing to accelerate the translation of basic research results into practice.
In the field of life sciences, the first step will be for The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in consultation with the heads of appropriate agencies, to submit a report assessing how biotechnology and biomanufacturing can be used to achieve medical breakthroughs, reduce the overall burden of disease and improve health outcomes.