KERRIGAN IN THE LAS VEGAS SUN: Is the U.S. Surrendering Its Biotech Crown

By SBE Council at 10 December, 2025, 9:55 am

In a new Op-Ed, SBE Council President & CEO Karen Kerrigan reviews the consequences of "unpredictable" policy signals, including the cancelling of $500 million in vaccine research, on America's biopharmaceutical industry - particularly the small innovative companies that dominate the sector. As Kerrigan noted:

"Obviously, the broken promise is a disappointment for those researchers. It also sends a mixed signal to America's biotech industry - particularly to the small- and mid-size firms that drive a disproportionate share of medical innovation and job creation - that government support for innovative medicines may no longer be reliable. That may, unfortunately, push the innovative companies that have made the United States the global leader in life sciences to take their talent, capital and jobs elsewhere."

Nearly 80% of pharmaceutical firms have fewer than 100 employees, and most have fewer than 20. "These are lean, high-risk ventures, often betting their survival on a single product," writes Kerrigan.

Kerrigan adds that the drain in capital and talent is already happening:

"The European Union, for example, attracted a 400% increase in proposals this year from U.S.-based researchers after the European Research Council upped its funding round to attract the world's best and brightest innovators focusing on critical areas, including preventive vaccine research for breast cancer….In addition, China has made no secret of its ambition to dominate the biotech industry. In 2024, China registered 7,100 clinical trials, surpassing the United States, and cities such as Beijing and Shanghai had more lab and research space under construction than any other global market. Furthermore, pharmaceutical and medtech patent filings in China have surged 379% over the past decade."

Read the full Op-Ed here.

This Op-Ed also appeared in: DC Journal (InsideSources) (Washington, DC), Charleston Gazette Mail (Charleston, WV), Latrobe Bulletin (Latrobe, PA), Frederick News-Post (Frederick, MD), Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, IA), Ground News (Kitchener, ON), among other papers.