Maintaining America’s momentum demands that policymakers resist policies that undermine research and development incentives.
Last year marked a transformative moment for the biopharmaceutical sector: the industry committed to nearly $500 billion in domestic investments, an almost 1,500% surge compared to 2024.
My organization, We Work For Health, documents where these investments flow on our U.S. Biopharma Investment Watch. It shows that from coast to coast, companies announced or broke ground last year on dozens of next-generation research facilities, expanded their stateside manufacturing capacity and laid the foundation for accelerating medical breakthroughs. This unprecedented deployment of capital signals industry confidence in America’s capacity to lead the next era of medical discovery.
The question now is whether policymakers will sustain the policy environment that made this historic growth possible—or allow it to slip away.
The Stakes: America’s Innovation Leadership Is at Risk
While 2025 may have set records, our competitors, particularly China, continue their aggressive, state-backed push to dominate global life sciences.
The warning signs are evident. China has now achieved parity with, and may soon overtake, the U.S. in drug discovery. Chinese regulators already approve more drugs than the U.S. FDA does, and in 2024, 1,100 more clinical trials were registered in China than in the U.S.
The consequences of losing this race would be catastrophic, devastating local economies nationwide. The biopharmaceutical industry supports nearly 5 million U.S. jobs and invests more in research and development than any other sector.
Even more concerning, ceding leadership to China could compromise patient safety and national security. China has a long history of exploiting supply chain vulnerabilities in critical sectors to gain a geopolitical advantage. It has done so through its dominance in rare earth materials production. Now imagine this scenario, but it’s a cure for cancer instead.
An Agenda That Meets the Moment
Maintaining America’s momentum demands that policymakers resist policies that undermine R&D incentives. Chief among these threats are attempts to expand government price controls via Most Favored Nation drug pricing, which would make the historic investments of 2025 economically untenable. Analyses suggest that the current price control scheme implemented by the Inflation Reduction Act could result in upward of 200 fewer new medicines over the next decade and 1.1 million lost American jobs.
Instead of enacting further price controls, Congress must protect the frameworks that enable innovation to thrive. Landmark legislation such as the Bayh-Dole Act—which allows federally funded research to be translated into therapies—has been instrumental to the biotechnology industry. We must ensure the strong intellectual property framework created by Bayh-Dole is protected. Misguided attempts to lower drug costs by expanding “march-in” rights would do little to make medicines more affordable for patients while undermining the innovation ecosystem that delivers breakthrough cures.
It’s equally important to recognize that today’s public investments in basic science are tomorrow’s cures, and it is crucial that lawmakers protect federal funding for the foundational science that fuels private-sector innovation. Congress’ bipartisan decision earlier this year to reverse proposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health sends an important message: robust and predictable federal research funding is a strategic imperative for maintaining America’s global edge.
Further, addressing the real healthcare affordability challenges Americans face should remain a top priority. Far too many people struggle to afford the medicines they need because corporate insurers and their pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) wield outsized power over which medicines are covered, what patients pay and whether they can access treatments their doctors prescribe. No other country gives its insurance industry such unchecked control. Congress’ recently enacted PBM reforms are a welcome step in the right direction. It is crucial that policymakers continue to hold these middlemen accountable for practices that drive up costs throughout the healthcare system.
The Choice Before Us
Last year’s unprecedented commitments by biopharmaceutical companies were a vote of confidence in America’s future. Companies demonstrated that they believe America is where the next generation of cures will be discovered and delivered.
But momentum isn’t self-sustaining. Without deliberate policy choices that protect R&D incentives, safeguard intellectual property and hold healthcare middlemen accountable, we risk squandering this progress.
The decisions policymakers make in 2026 will determine whether America maintains its position as the world’s medical innovation leader or hands our competitors the blueprint for displacing us. With historic investment on the table and global competition intensifying, there’s no room for half measures.
This is America’s moment. Will we seize it?
