A cross-section of biotech leaders is launching the American Biotech Innovation Alliance (ABIA) with the goal of uniting stakeholders and defining a national strategy to sustain and expand U.S. leadership in biotech innovation.
The alliance debuts with 21 founding members, ranging from commercial-stage organizations and preclinical startups to established and emerging biotech hubs such as Massachusetts, California, Florida and New Mexico, according to a May 5 release.
ABIA plans to produce a flagship report outlining policy, investment and structural priorities it believes are necessary to maintain the country’s position in the global biotech industry. The guidance will address regulatory policy, capital formation, manufacturing capacity and workforce development.
The nonprofit’s founder, Patroski Lawson—a longtime biotech lobbyist and CEO of KPM Group DC, who also serves on the board of BioGene Therapeutics—said in the release: “If we don’t start thinking more strategically about what comes next, we risk losing ground. ABIA was created to bring leaders together to define that next phase and to turn those conversations into something actionable.”
Despite its founder’s advocacy background, ABIA says its role is to build consensus among members and define the industry’s direction, rather than advocate directly with lawmakers.
The release cites declining public investment, market volatility, regulatory complexity and intensifying global competition as reasons for urgency. As the U.S. biotech sector expands, ABIA says it is designed to reflect the industry’s geographic diversity.
The ABIA website highlights China’s control over 80% of active pharmaceutical ingredients used in antibiotics and other compounds, notes that U.S. biotechs offshore 30% of their drug development workflows to Chinese organizations and points out that 72% of the FDA’s novel drug approvals in 2024 came from small- and midsize companies.
Rather than compete with other advocacy groups like BIO, PhRMA and the newly formed Midsize Biotech Alliance of America (MBAA), ABIA says it aims to complement their efforts by focusing on areas of strategic alignment.
Earlier this year, the MBAA kicked off taking aim at the Most Favored Nation policy, which the organization says poses an existential threat to innovation and small and midsize biotechs.
ABIA plans to identify common ground through small-group discussions and gatherings across the country, developing a framework and strategy in collaboration with industry, academic and policy experts.
The release summarizes ABIA’s mission by emphasizing the need for the biotech ecosystem to align with innovators: “The future of biotechnology will be shaped not just by scientific breakthroughs, but by how effectively the ecosystem aligns around them.”