REPRESENTATIVES HOULAHAN, BICE ANNOUNCE BIOTECH CAUCUS

Bipartisan House Caucus Will Advance Domestic Bioeconomy and Competitive Posture

: June 26, 2025

REPRESENTATIVES HOULAHAN, BICE ANNOUNCE BIOTECH CAUCUS



Washington, D.C....Today Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and Stephanie Bice (R-OK) announced the formation of the BIOTech Caucus. The Caucus’ mission is to advance bipartisan policy solutions to keep the United States at the forefront of global biotechnology leadership, to engage and learn from sector leaders, and to build awareness and bioliteracy among Members of Congress. Joining Co-Chairs Houlahan and Bice on the BIOTech Caucus are Vice-Chairs Representatives Ro Khanna (D-CA), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) and Pete Sessions (R-TX). 


The Caucus recognizes the strategic economic and national security imperatives of federal policy investments in emerging biotechnology. The Caucus’ founding comes after the release of the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB)’s comprehensive report to Congress in April of this year. The NSCEB report showed that China is surging ahead in key areas of emerging biotechnology, and Congress must act now to ensure the United States regains and retains its competitive edge. Failure to respond urgently to this and other national vulnerabilities risks the United States falling dangerously, and potentially irrecoverably, behind. Ceding biotechnology leadership will also cripple the robust industry job growth in America. On a national scale, the bioscience industry had a $2.9 trillion impact on the economy in 2021, supporting 2.1 million jobs. 


The BIOTech Caucus will collaborate to advance, support and champion legislation to bolster the domestic bioeconomy, with three primary areas of focus: 

1.     Ensuring domestic bio-security 

2.     Driving bio-innovation 

3.     Unlocking bio-opportunity, in particular job growth, across the country 


“I believe strongly that the United States must lead the world, with its democratic values, in shaping the future of emerging biotechnology that will fundamentally change our lives across health care, agriculture, manufacturing, and more,” said Representative Houlahan. “I’m thrilled to be working again with Representative Bice and our vice-chairs to tackle a major national issue like we’ve done with paid family leave, and I am committed to working across the aisle to see our biotechnology recommendations come to fruition.” 


“Serving as a commissioner on the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology has heighted my awareness of the capabilities and threats from our near-peer adversaries,” said Representative Bice. “The BIOTech Caucus will work to ensure that America remains a leader in biotechnology. We must champion policies that unleash innovation and grow this critical sector.” 


“Investments in biotechnology will pave America’s path toward economic and scientific leadership in the 21st-century economy. The BIOTech Caucus will be critical to fostering innovation, biosecurity, and success in industries of the future," said Representative Ro Khanna. 


 “America’s leadership in biotechnology is critical to our national security, economic strength and public health. The BIOTech Caucus will ensure that Congress remains informed, engaged, and proactive in supporting innovation, advancing responsible policy, and maintaining our global edge in this vital sector,” said Congressman Gus Bilirakis.   


 “There are a lot of bad ideas about biotech in Washington right now. Congress must promote good ones: expand funding for basic research; protect intellectual property; set high and clear standards; lower co-pays; and take out the middlemen,” said Representative Jake Auchincloss. 


Congressman Sessions said, “I am looking forward working to fostering bipartisan collaboration on the BIOTech Caucus to support cutting-edge research and strengthen America’s competitive edge on the global stage. It is our job in Congress to create an environment where the biotechnology sector can thrive, advancing life-saving breakthroughs, generating high-quality jobs, and fueling economic growth. By embracing pro-innovation policies and supporting the entrepreneurial spirit that defines American capitalism, we can secure our future and reinforce the United States as the world leader in innovation." 


“Emerging biotechnology is at an inflection point, and the creation of the BIOTech Caucus is a vital and welcome step towards making this impactful technology a national priority,” said NSCEB Vice Chair Michelle Rozo. “I applaud the co-chairs for their thoughtful, bipartisan leadership and look forward to collaborating with them as we work together to implement the NSCEB’s recommendations and strengthen our national and economic security.” 


Kelly Seagraves, Vice President of National Security and International Affairs at BIO said, “Biotechnology means hope and health for people and patients around the world, but it also means jobs, economic growth, and national security for Americans. The bipartisan BIOTech Caucus will play a pivotal role in creating the policy and regulatory environment needed to leverage our scientific ingenuity and innovative spirit to advance U.S. leadership in biotechnology. We look forward to working closely with the BIOTech Caucus and its members to address these vital issues." 

 


“EBRC applauds the Chairs of the Congressional BIOTech Caucus for their leadership in launching this important bipartisan effort. Biotechnology holds immense potential to strengthen national security, drive innovation in all sectors, and create economic opportunity across America,” said India Hook-Barnard, Chief Executive Officer, Engineering Biology Research Consortium. “The recent NSCEB report has underscored the urgency of sustained congressional action to ensure U.S. leadership in emerging biotechnology, and we believe the BIOTech Caucus will play a critical role in advancing that goal. EBRC looks forward to working towards supporting this mission alongside our peer organizations. 


“Today's launch marks an important milestone in American efforts to lead the world in biomanufacturing,” said Brooke Coleman, Executive Director of the newly formed American Alliance for Biomanufacturing. “U.S. biomanufacturers are delivering a new generation of bio-based products spanning industries as diverse as energy, defense, agriculture, chemicals, ingredients, sweeteners, materials, fabrics, and nutrition, but we need smart policy to stay ahead of the competition. We look forward to working with the BIOTech Caucus to turbo-charge resilience and growth across America's bioeconomy." 


Below is the BIOTech Caucus Framework: 


Mission: 

The House bipartisan Congressional BIOTech Caucus is founded and chaired by Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and Stephanie Bice (R-OK) and Vice Chairs Ro Khanna (D-CA), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) and Pete Sessions (R-TX). The Caucus’ mission is to advance bipartisan policy solutions to keep the United States at the forefront of global biotechnology leadership, to engage and learn from sector leaders, and to build awareness and bioliteracy among Members of Congress. 



The Caucus recognizes the strategic economic and national security imperatives of federal policy investments in emerging biotechnology. The Caucus’ founding comes after the release of the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology’s report to Congress in April 2025. The report urged comprehensive congressional action in the next three years, absent which the U.S. risks falling irrecoverably behind to China. The Caucus will call attention to the Commission’s findings and continue the work of highlighting the power and potential of the U.S. bioeconomy. 


Goals: 

  1. Advance, support, and champion legislation to bolster U.S. biotechnology leadership and strengthen the domestic bioeconomy
  2. Convene regular meetings to strategize efforts and learn from key officials and industry leaders 
  3. Hold public events in coordination with experts and stakeholders with the goal of building bioliteracy across the U.S. Capitol and calling attention to the urgency of action 


BIOTech Caucus Focus Areas: 


Biosecurity: Federal investments in emerging biotechnology are critical for U.S. national security. We cannot afford to fall behind as Beijing makes strides towards controlling global bio-supply chains and enhancing Chinese military capabilities. Congress must ensure the U.S. leads the world in the development of biotechnologies with our democratic values, supports U.S. military defense applications in biotechnology, and makes advancements to keep Americans safe from bio-threats. 


Innovation: The U.S. government can play a key role in incentivizing bio-entrepreneurship and leveraging our leading capital markets. However, too often, the complicated federal bureaucracy can stand in the way of progress. Congress must advance smart policies to elevate bio-innovation among agencies, streamline regulations, and foster a supportive business ecosystem. 


Opportunity: There is no question that domestic biomanufacturing will lead to job creation across the country. Biotechnology also stands to solve some of our greatest global challenges, like cancer, food insecurity, environmental protection, and more. Congress has a responsibility to help develop and support the bio-workforce of the future, invest across sectors, and encourage a competitive, robust, and growing domestic bioeconomy. 


Read full Commission Report here. 

--end--

Houlahan is an Air Force veteran, engineer, entrepreneur, educator, and nonprofit leader. She is serving her fourth consecutive term representing the people of Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District, which encompasses Chester County and southern Berks County. Houlahan is the first female veteran to be named as Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee’s Military Personnel Subcommittee and a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Houlahan is also chair of the Economic Growth and Cost of Living Task Force on the New Democrat Coalition. 

Message from CEO: Mounting Federal Pressures and a Vital Moment for Georgia

By Maria Thacker Goethe • August 1, 2025
As Washington heads into August recess, Georgia Life Sciences is counting down the days to the 2025 Georgia Life Sciences Summit , taking place August 26–27 in Sandy Springs . With just one month to go, this pivotal gathering will bring together innovators, investors, policymakers, and ecosystem leaders at a time when the national policy landscape is shifting rapidly—and not always in our favor. In just the past week, we’ve seen: A short-lived but deeply disruptive pause in NIH funding : The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) temporarily halted the issuance of NIH research grants, contracts, and training awards—impacting institutions nationwide, including here in Georgia. After significant backlash from Congress, research leaders, and advocacy groups, the administration quickly reversed course and released the funds. However, this episode underscores the growing unpredictability of federal research funding—one of the lifelines for our academic and startup ecosystem. The return of pharmaceutical tariffs : The administration announced a 15% tariff on European pharmaceutical imports , though it will not take effect until a national security review is completed. While far lower than the previously floated 200% rate, this move still poses a concern for supply chains and U.S. companies relying on EU-based manufacturing. Escalating pressure on drug pricing : President Trump has now issued direct letters to CEOs of 17 major pharmaceutical companies demanding implementation of Most Favored Nation (MFN) pricing within 60 days. The directive includes MFN pricing for all existing Medicaid drugs, future Medicare and commercial launches, and even repatriation of foreign revenues. While regulatory specifics remain vague, the message is clear: the administration is increasing its pressure on pricing reform—and that could have broad implications for biotech innovation, particularly among smaller companies. At the same time, a new BIO report shows that early-stage biotech funding continues to contract. Series A investment remains flat, IPOs are sluggish, and Q2 startup funding dropped to just $900 million—down from $2.6 billion in Q1. Layoffs across the sector have surged. This paints a sobering picture for many companies in Georgia and beyond. In this environment, Georgia Life Sciences remains committed to elevating our state’s voice, regionally and nationally . We continue to advocate for stable federal funding, smart policies, and the resources innovators need to survive and thrive. The Georgia Life Sciences Summit will be a platform to do just that, demonstrating the resilience of our ecosystem, celebrating homegrown successes, and shaping the future of health innovation in Georgia. I hope to see you there.

Emerging biotechs get bearish to weather market trends, finds BIO report

By Maria Thacker Goethe • July 28, 2025
By: Clary Estes “Small companies are the lifeblood of the industry and a lot of what they do, and what they’re experiencing, greatly affects the industry as a whole,” said Chad Wessel, Director of Industry Analysis at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). He spoke with Bio.News in an interview about BIO’s 2025 report, “ The State of Emerging Biotech Companies: Investment, Deal, and Pipeline Trends ,” focused on the biotech industry from the early-stage perspective. As researchers found, the current landscape is challenging, but there are still opportunities. “In the last couple years, we’ve had a little bit of a contraction of the industry. During COVID, we kind of had this sugar rush for the industry,” said Wessel. “A lot of companies were being created. A lot of money was being thrown out there. A lot more companies were being funded. And in the last couple of years, there has been a little bit more of a correction, and we’re seeing funding levels going down to what we’ve seen prior to COVID.” “But when you add on other challenges, like the political landscape and everything, it is leaning towards a very challenging environment for a lot of companies,” he continued. Bearish venture capital “In venture capital, yes, you have a lot of money, but it’s going to fewer companies at higher average amounts,” explained Wessel. “It’s creating this competitive haves and have-nots type marketplace or environment. So it just makes it a lot more competitive and more challenging to raise funds.” Instead of finding new opportunities, venture capitalists are investing more in companies they are already working with. As the BIO report found, the amount of new series A-1 investment rounds into biopharma remained flat between 2023 and 2024, while the number of U.S. companies receiving their first series A-1 tranche went from 102 to 100. This is in comparison to 181 in 2021, reflecting the COVID influx to emerging biotechs. Comparatively, as the BIO report found, the average amount for A-1 transactions in the U.S. saw a remarkable increase of 700% in the last 15 years, with the average amount raised sitting at $60 million in 2024. The rest of the world stayed relatively steady in comparison to the U.S.’s persistent growth. And with the more bearish tendencies of investors, Wessel and team observed an interesting trend. “2024 was the first year that clinical programs actually raised more venture dollars than pre-clinical, which hasn’t happened in a while,” said Wessel. “I think the last time that happened was in 2018. This ties into some of the information that we’ve heard anecdotally, which is that a lot of VC firms are focusing on the companies that they currently have in their portfolio, rather than adding new companies.” Licensing and deals dip It is not too surprising, then, that as investors shore up what they already have in the pipelines, the R&D pipeline and licensing have slowed somewhat. As the BIO report observed, long-term growth in the R&D pipeline continues with an overall growth of 145% since 2010. Yet, the 2024 expansion rate (4.6%) subsided slightly, trailing the 5-year average of 6.7%. “The growth has slowed on new programs, and more of those programs are being licensed with larger companies,” explained Wessel. “There are fewer options for big companies to backfill their pipeline with products because a lot of them are already out.” The data also shows a notable slowing of the R&D typically done by large biopharma companies. “The areas that are not licensed out as much are the ones with some of the higher patient populations and subsequently the ones that are not being run by small companies,” said Wessel. “These are areas like endocrine and cardiovascular diseases, which are areas where there are a lot of things like type 2 diabetes, psoriasis , high blood pressure, etc. Those all have a lot of burden on the healthcare sector or the patient population, and those aren’t really being worked on that much by smaller companies.” Comparatively – and also not surprisingly – oncology has stayed at the top of the clinical pipeline, along with neurology and infectious disease. “Same thing with licensing,” said Wessel. “While there are deals that are still happening, the upfront amount is lower currently than it has been in years past, and most of the value is tied up into milestone payments, which may or may not happen.” This is also being felt when it comes to new companies going public, which has been an oft-discussed challenge in the biotech industry for the last few years. “The IPO market has still been challenging,” Wessel says. “We went from having 40 companies a year going public, down to 15 in 2023, and now we’re back up in 2025, but it’s still down from the pre-COVID era timeframe.” Biopharma layoffs Another notable characteristic of this year’s biopharma landscape has been uptick in layoffs. “Sometimes it’s just the nature of the economy. But the amount that we’ve seen in the last few years is quite a bit higher,” said Wessel. “To counter that, we don’t really have a way of measuring job creation, but we do know it’s happening. We just are unable to put a value on that.” The BIO report found that layoff announcements ticked up to 65 during Q1 of 2025. While two points lower than Q1 of the previous year, this still marks a jump from 2024’s Q2, Q3, and Q4, which saw the number of layoff announcements at 41, 54, and 46, respectively. All in all, Wessel noted, the biotech industry is still in a bit of a holding period when it comes to trying to navigate the coming months. “It’s too early to be able to say much about the coming years for the industry based on these numbers,” he said. “It takes a little time for reality to kind of catch up for multiple reasons. But what I can say is that we do know that companies are reducing their pipelines. We do know that companies are laying off individuals. We do know that companies are having a challenge of raising funds and continue doing their best to try to maintain operations as long as they can until they can get funds.” “We know the challenge is out there, but we’re going to have to kind of wait and see a little bit on the data side of things to understand how everything is going to catch up going forward.” Source: https://bio.news/bioeconomy/bio-2025-state-of-emerging-biotechs-report-market-trends/?mkt_tok=NDkwLUVIWi05OTkAAAGb7m5php-rTOf0a_GTaj5pj7Zl-HlpVM25WtyVvCYudM82a9GKjoazUg9sqU66hlAbhqbEuYvcX3C4EqfBG7Q

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