Two years. Hundreds of meetings. Thousands of hours. More drafts than I want to count. And now, it’s here.
The final report of the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) is officially out in the world. It’s 180+ pages of action-oriented, bipartisan, bicameral national security-focused biotech strategy. And after being a Commissioner on this effort for the past two years, I can say this without a hint of exaggeration: it’s one of the more meaningful milestones of my career.
This report matters. Not because it’s big. Not because it’s polished. But because it’s timely, serious, and built on the input of over 1,800 experts from government, industry, academia, civil society, and our allies around the world. It’s not just words on paper, it’s a call to action. And more importantly, it’s a map of what we need to do, right now, to make sure the United States doesn’t fall behind in one of the most important strategic domains of the 21st century.
But let me back up. Let me tell you how we got here - and why this matters so much to me personally.
The podcast audio was AI-generated using Google’s NotebookLM.
The Long Road to This Moment
When I first started working in biotechnology, it wasn’t called that. At least not in the way we use the word today. It was synthetic biology, computational biology, sometimes “emerging tech.” It lived in academic labs and DARPA proposals. We’d talk about using engineered bacteria to make materials, or using CRISPR to grow food that could survive a changing climate, or using DNA as a new kind of data storage. Most people nodded politely and moved on.
When I pitched the idea of biotech as a strategic defense capability to senior officials at the Department of Defense 5+ years ago, I got a lot of puzzled looks. One senior leader literally said, “Interesting, but we’re not a pharmaceutical company.” That same month, another told me that biology was “too wet and weird” to be taken seriously in national security.
So, I did what I always do, I didn’t wait for permission. I started building.
I built a small team helping the Pentagon launch its modernization strategy around biotechnology. We weren’t sure how far we’d get, but we knew it was important. We wrote the memos. We built the programs. We helped people understand that biotech wasn’t just about making pills, it was about materials, logistics, sensors, fuel, medicine, agriculture, and resilience.
Eventually, it stuck. People started to listen. Then they started to act. One by one, new programs emerged. Budgets shifted. Conversations evolved. And now, fast forward to 2025, and I’m a Commissioner on a Congressionally-mandated bipartisan national commission focused entirely on emerging biotechnology and national security.
I don’t say this for credit, because nothing happens in government without the village. I say it to show just how far we’ve come. And to remind people that change is possible if you’re willing to keep pushing.
And to remind people that change is possible if you’re willing to keep pushing.
What’s Actually in the Report?
The NSCEB Final Report is built around one big, blunt truth: the United States is at serious risk of falling behind in the global biotechnology race, and that gap is shrinking faster than most people realize.
Our number one strategic competitor, the People’s Republic of China, has made biotechnology a whole-of-government priority for nearly two decades. They are not playing small ball. They’re investing in everything from AI-enabled drug discovery and biomanufacturing, to military applications and population surveillance using genomic data. They’re scaling companies like WuXi AppTec and BGI with the full weight of the Chinese Communist Party behind them. And they’re doing it with a clear goal: make the rest of the world dependent on China for the technologies that will define the future.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government has taken a piecemeal approach. We have no centralized coordination, our funding has stagnated, our regulatory system is outdated, and we haven’t done enough to turn our scientific breakthroughs into scalable products. We still lead in discovery, but China is catching up in translation and deployment. That’s the part that wins the long game.
This report is a wake-up call. And it’s also a playbook.
Watch the House Armed Services Committee hearing about the report.
The Commission’s recommendations are grouped into six pillars:
Prioritize biotechnology at the national level – including the creation of a National Biotechnology Coordination Office in the White House.
Mobilize the private sector to get U.S. products to scale – by simplifying regulations, incentivizing capital, and protecting our supply chains.
Maximize the benefits of biotechnology for defense – with ethical principles, infrastructure investment, and secure supply chains.
Out-innovate our strategic competitors – by treating biological data as a national asset, launching grand research challenges, and securing IP.
Build the biotechnology workforce of the future – across all skill levels, geographies, and backgrounds.
Mobilize the collective strengths of our allies and partners – because no country can build this alone.
There’s a lot more in there - detailed legislative proposals, programmatic ideas, timelines, even a five-year funding table - but the core message is simple: we can’t win this race by accident. We need a deliberate, strategic approach, and we need it now.
Why This Isn’t Just a Government Report
Look, I’ve read a lot of reports in my career. Most of them disappear into inboxes or bookshelves within a week of publication. Some get skimmed. A few make headlines. Almost none change the trajectory of a country.
But here’s the thing: this one can, if people actually act on it.
The NSCEB Final Report is not about control, or bureaucracy, or just spending more money. It’s about setting the conditions for the United States to remain the global leader in biotechnology. It’s about national resilience, economic competitiveness, and defense capability. It’s about making sure we’re building the kind of future we want to live in, and not just reacting to someone else’s vision.
If you work in biotech, this report is for you.
If you’re a policymaker, investor, regulator, scientist, teacher, or entrepreneur, this report is for you.
If you care about your family having access to medicine, safe food, clean water, resilient supply chains, and the ability to compete globally in a world that’s changing fast, this report is for you.
It’s not the whole answer. But it’s a damn good place to start.
This Work Was Built by People
The part I keep coming back to - the thing I want people to remember - is that none of this happens without people.
It’s easy to see a report like this and assume it was all polished language and boardroom meetings. But what I saw over the past two years was a team of deeply committed Commissioners, staffers, advisors, and experts grinding through every word, every debate, every policy angle, because we all knew this work mattered.
We traveled across the country and to U.S. partners abroad. We met with industry leaders and startup founders. We talked to scientists at federal labs, students at community colleges, and officials from every level of government. We asked hard questions. We listened carefully. We took the feedback seriously. We debated fiercely. Then, we wrote a report that is the product of all those voices.
This isn’t just a set of ideas from 11 Commissioners. It’s the collective insight of thousands of people across the public and private sectors who care about where biotechnology is going and what it means for America’s future.
It’s your report as much as it is ours.
What Comes Next
Here’s the part where I’m going to be blunt.
A report doesn’t mean anything if people don’t act.
We need Congress to turn these recommendations into legislation. We need executive agencies to align their programs and priorities. We need the private sector to bring its creativity and capital to the table. We need universities and workforce organizations to step up. And we need the public to stay engaged, to understand what’s at stake, and to hold leaders accountable.
If you’re building biotech, build it.
If you’re investing in biotech, invest wisely, and with purpose.
If you’re regulating biotech, regulate like the future depends on it.
If you’re educating the next generation, show them what’s possible.
And if you’re just reading this and wondering what you can do? Stay informed. Stay involved. Vote for leaders who understand that biology is not just about science, it’s about strategy, sovereignty, and survival.
I started The Connected Ideas Project with the first goal of spreading the word of how important this is to us all, and how you can make it a reality.
My Personal Thanks
I don’t normally do this, but I’m going to end with a few thank-yous. Because behind every milestone like this is a village, and I’m grateful for mine.
To my fellow Commissioners: thank you for the trust, the insight, the tough conversations, and the shared commitment to doing this right.
To the NSCEB staff: you are the heartbeat of this report. Your energy, intellect, and work ethic made every piece of this possible.
To all the people I’ve worked with over the years - from DoD to DARPA, from startups to strategy shops, from early mentors to current collaborators - thank you for shaping my perspective and giving me a front-row seat to the evolution of this field.
And most of all, to everyone reading this: thank you in advance for your help in making this a reality.
We’ve laid out the plan. Let’s go build the future.
—Titus
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