The following is an excerpt from an article that appeared in the Boston Business Journal on September 10, 2024:
While Massachusetts life sciences leaders have expressed understanding of legislators’ national security concerns, they have their own worries about how this legislation could impact innovation.
Local biotech CEOs have told the Business Journal that requiring a major shift in suppliers could slow innovation, and finding the high-quality, large-scale labor handled by overseas companies is difficult to find stateside. Some leaders have called for the U.S. and Massachusetts to invest in its own biomanufacturing, but there is no investment commitment to building this sector included in Biosecure.
“The House’s passage of the Biosecure Act signals bipartisan commitment to addressing national security risks in China,” said Kendalle Burlin O’Connell, CEO of MassBio, in a statement on Tuesday. “Notably, however, many members with expertise in the life sciences chose to vote against the legislation, as in its current form it would unnecessarily harm the biopharmaceutical ecosystem. At MassBio, we recognize the strong support for a policy like Biosecure and we will work with the U.S. Senate to see the legislation is modified to provide the time and financial resources to enable such a transition.”