Funding cuts at US federal agencies have compounded threats to the US’s predominance in global biopharma as an ascendant Chinese industry looks to turn local biotech innovation into pharma companies with a global reach.
This was the opinion of a panel of pharma, investor, academic, and government representatives held at the 2026 BIO International Convention in San Diego, taking place 22–25 June. Experts discussed how dwindling federal funding for life sciences research is leaving the US ever more vulnerable to competition from China as the latter edges towards establishing a greater global presence, due in part to a more dedicated investment strategy.
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In a recent GlobalData survey of biopharma industry professionals, over 60% of respondents viewed Chinese biotechs as either a competitive threat or as both a partner and competitor, reflecting the rise of Chinese FIC assets across modalities and therapy areas. GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology.
Last year, President Donald Trump axed federal funding to scientific research through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the primary government body responsible for biomedical research. The cuts have affected overall US innovation, according to BIO chairman and Genentech senior vice president Fritz Bittenbender, by disincentivising overseas researchers to settle in the country. He described this as “a generational loss of scientists.”
Bittenbender drew an unfavourable comparison to the Chinese government , where he said a trillion dollars is spent annually on scientific R&D, a claim supported by OECD figures. He said this is in line with the country’s five-year plan to dominate the global bioscience industry.
According to Andrew Lam, managing director of healthcare investment firm Ally Bridge Group, US efforts to combat China’s rise by restricting foreign investment are unlikely to stem its growth. “Capital is fungible and moves around, we can’t reconvene it, so it will seek out the best innovation around the world. So, even if we have protection mechanisms, unfortunately, capital will escape,” he said.
Lam predicted China will establish a global pharma presence beyond its current biotech focus within the next 10 years, perhaps through serving the Global South. Instead of defensive policies to limit investment to China, he said the US should lean on its powerful capital markets, which China will struggle to replicate.
Lan also spoke about taking lessons learned during the Covid-19 pandemic, such as the rise in remote working, to foster rethinking around US biotech hubs. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, said she wishes for the state to capitalise on this change to attract talent and boost local biotech.
Kotek said she sees efforts in Oregon to improve the cost of living and quality of life as part of broader efforts to nurture the state’s biopharma sector through attracting and retaining talent from across the US and abroad. However, Kotek noted state governments can only do so much, referencing the federal government’s increasingly restrictive stance towards immigration as limiting the number of foreign biopharma workers able to contribute to the US industry.
