{"id":605212,"date":"2024-06-04T01:02:27","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T05:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/dr-jason-kelly-teaming-up-to-build-our-bio-future\/"},"modified":"2024-06-04T02:33:41","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T06:33:41","slug":"dr-jason-kelly-teaming-up-to-build-our-bio-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/dr-jason-kelly-teaming-up-to-build-our-bio-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Jason Kelly: Teaming up to build our bio future","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

Lately the world is enraptured with AI and its potential to change our lives. AI transforms our digital world\u2014the world of information. But changing lives and livelihoods requires transforming not just information but atoms: our physical world. Biotechnology, the most sophisticated manufacturing technology on the planet, offers a profoundly generative capacity to transform atoms into what we need the most to survive and thrive: food, medicines, materials, and more. We are in a pivotal moment for shaping this biotech-enabled future, and showing what United States leadership looks like and why it matters, and we need your help to ensure we get it right.<\/p>\n

As Chair of the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB), I have a front-row seat to biotech innovation happening across the United States. A company in Washington state is using advances in generative AI to design brand-new antibodies to treat cancer<\/a>, and another in Massachusetts used CRISPR to create the first FDA-approved gene therapy to treat sickle cell disease<\/a>. Researchers in Indiana are reimagining how biotechnology can bolster U.S. agriculture, and entrepreneurs in North Carolina are developing bio-cement for construction. The strength of a U.S. approach to innovation, one that fosters the talents and resources present in every region, has never been clearer.<\/p>\n

Charting a path for U.S. biotech leadership<\/h2>\n

These examples are only a peek into what biotech can already do, but consider what the U.S. biotechnology sector is poised to accomplish if truly prioritized:<\/p>\n

What if we could deliver personalized therapies as easily as picking up a prescription from the pharmacy?<\/p>\n

What if we could grow fruits and vegetables that are packed with twice as many nutrients to combat food insecurity and nutrient deficiency?<\/p>\n

What if we could strengthen supply chains by manufacturing more critical materials using fermentation?<\/p>\n

I want a bright biotech future for everyone, and I know it won\u2019t happen by default. It will only be realized through collaboration among a government that promotes an innovation-driven ecosystem, a strong biotechnology industry that embodies our entrepreneurial spirit, curiosity-driven academic institutions across our country, and engaged communities whose livelihoods stand to be improved by these innovations. These public-private collaborations gave us the internet, semiconductors, and virtually every FDA-approved drug in the last 15 years<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The importance of collaboration<\/h2>\n

I know the importance of government collaborations firsthand; they launched my career. My PhD research at MIT was supported by the National Science Foundation\u2019s Graduate Research Fellowship Program, which in turn inspired me and my classmates to start a biotechnology company. Ginkgo Bioworks wouldn\u2019t exist without another key government program\u2014the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program<\/a>, which provides commercialization support and coaching. Now, 15 years later, our company serves both government and industry partners in developing bio-based innovations.<\/p>\n

I am honored to be asked to draw on this experience to help chart a path for continued U.S. biotechnology leadership, and I hope to inspire and enable others to do the same. Recognizing biotechnology\u2019s wide-ranging impact on health security, food security, economic security, and overall national security, Congress established our Commission to ensure that the United States reaches biotechnology\u2019s \u201cChatGPT moment\u201d first and is prepared to meet it. Congress charged our bipartisan Commission, with members of Congress and experts from industry, government, and academia, to put forward policy recommendations to ensure the United States government promotes a strong biotechnology industry that safeguards the American people.<\/p>\n

We aren\u2019t just talking about formulating abstract ideas or writing a report that sits on the shelf. Rather, we are focused on translating good policy ideas into real, concrete action. And we are already seeing early impact through our efforts:<\/p>\n