In a recent interview, US Senator Todd Young expressed concerns about China’s biotechnology progress and how this could threaten American national security 1. Young is currently leading the US National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB), established by the US Congress in 2022 to address biotechnology-related national defense matters 2.
Last year, NSCEB published a report recommending 49 policies to fend off emerging biotechnology threats 3. The report highlights a sentiment shared by various governments of late: the loss of domestic innovativeness and international competitiveness in biotechnology, especially to China, is threatening national security 4 5. Further, Artificial Intelligence has intensified competition and makes bioweapon threats more imminent.
Consequently, countries have called for strengthening their domestic biotechnology sector by supporting the private sector and protecting bio-assets from foreign forces.
National defense is the protection of a country’s territory, sovereignty, citizens, and interests from external threats 6. Biotechnology is broadly defined as tools/products based on biological systems. Biotechnology has applications in healthcare, agriculture, food production, energy, and many other strategically important fields. Thus, a country over-relying on foreign biotechnology could be threatened if these external supplies are cut off.
Apart from a stabilising role, biotechnology also has direct military applications. For instance, biosensors to detect pathogens during a biological attack, biomaterials that shield warfighters from thermal detection, and biofuels for jet engines 2. Technical and scientific progress has attracted governments’ attention to military biotechnology. In 2025, the NSCEB and the European Commission both published reports recommending investments in military biotechnology 2 7. The field has also seen materialised public investments. In 2024, for instance, the US Department of Defense invested $60M in 34 private companies to scale their biomanufacturing facilities for military applications 2.
Growing attention to the national security aspect of biotechnology creates both opportunities and threats for existing and emerging life sciences companies.
Scientists and biotech entrepreneurs may want to look beyond obvious applications for their scientific discoveries. Targeting niche markets, such as military biotech, could help avoid competition from established players.
Elusys Therapeutics is a good example of a company that deliberately chose to serve military needs. Elusys specialises in medical countermeasures against bioterrorism 8. The company’s flagship product, ANTHIM®, is stockpiled by US and allied governments. ANTHIM® is a monoclonal antibody used to neutralise anthrax-causing bacteria, a common bioweapon in military attacks.
Alternatively, companies could consider the military an additional customer group to broaden revenue and funding sources. Apriori Bio, for instance, recently became a strategic partner of the US Department of War (DoW) 9. The company’s flagship Octavia™ platform uses AI-powered prediction of virus evolution to design more effective vaccines. As part of this new contract, Apriori will use its platform to develop vaccines aligning with military biodefense needs.
As a non-medical example, in 2024, synthetic biology company Amyris received $1.93M from the DoW to scale its biomanufacturing capacity 10. Amyris manufactures speciality materials using biology. These materials could then be used in various applications, such as in jet fuel or in military tyres. Most recently, the company collaborated with US military researchers to develop materials for defense applications 11.
Importantly, this is the time to pay attention to regulatory changes that might affect access to foreign biotech assets. Debates about restricting deals between US and Chinese biotech companies have been ongoing 12. While major biopharma companies are generally against tight restrictions, smaller companies tend to support them. The reason comes down to a difference in interests: major companies want access to relatively cheap and high-quality Chinese assets, while smaller companies want reduced competition for deals with big biopharmas.
Offensive biotechnology applications refer to the use of biotechnology to attack adversaries (i.e., the usage of bioweapons, such as biotoxins or pathogens).
Interest in bioweapons grew during World War II, with various countries developing their own programmes 13. In late 1969, former US President Richard Nixon publicly renounced biological weapons for national security reasons 13. This paved the way for the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC), which prohibits any activities relating to bioweapons. To date, the Convention has been signed by 183 UN member states 14. The role of biotechnology in national security has since been more defensive and stabilising, rather than offensive.
Nonetheless, the US and allies have been wary of evidence that certain countries are still secretly maintaining offensive bioweapon programmes 2 4. As a result, investments in countermeasures and national guardrails have been urged 2 4.
Historically, public actors seem to rely mostly on their own scientists to develop offensive biotechnology. Today’s interconnected institutions, however, could obfuscate real research intentions 15. Government-backed bioweapon programmes could hide under the cover of (dual-purpose) biomedical research by private companies or research institutions 15. Thus, life sciences companies and entrepreneurs may want to prepare for making ethical/moral decisions involving such applications.
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The National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology. National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology Urges Swift Action to Protect U.S. National Security, https://www.biotech.senate.gov/press-releases/nsceb-publishes-final-report/ (2025, accessed 25 September 2026). ↩
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Flagship Pioneering. Flagship Pioneering Awarded First-Of-Its-Kind Contract by Department of War to Advance Next-Generation Medical Countermeasure Technologies Against Evolving Biological Threats, https://www.flagshippioneering.com/news/press-release/flagship-pioneering-awarded-first-of-its-kind-contract-by-department-of-war-to-advance-next-generation-medical-countermeasure-technologies-against-evolving-biological-threats (2026, accessed 25 September 2026). ↩
U.S. Department of War. DOD Releases Final Nine Awards for Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program, https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3965368/dod-releases-final-nine-awards-for-distributed-bioindustrial-manufacturing-prog/ (2024, accessed 01 October 2026). ↩
Amyris. Amyris, Navy, and Air Force labs collaborate to unlock differentiated materials performance across polymer, fuel, and liquid crystal applications, https://amyris.com/news-insights/amyris-nawcwd-sesquiterpenes-chemical-applications-testing (2026, accessed 01 October 2026). ↩
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