Last year, the U.S. biopharmaceutical industry committed nearly $500 billion to domestic investments, marking a significant increase of almost 1,500% compared to 2024. According to We Work For Health’s U.S. Biopharma Investment Watch, these funds supported the launch and expansion of research facilities and manufacturing capacity across the country.
Industry leaders argue that this surge reflects confidence in America’s ability to remain at the forefront of medical innovation. However, there are concerns about whether current policies will continue to support such growth.
While 2025 was a record-setting year for American biopharma investment, international competition is intensifying. China has reached parity with the United States in drug discovery and now registers more clinical trials than the U.S., with Chinese regulators approving more drugs than their American counterparts. In 2024 alone, China registered 1,100 more clinical trials than the United States.
There are warnings that losing ground in life sciences could have serious consequences for local economies and national security. The biopharmaceutical sector supports nearly five million jobs in the U.S. and leads all industries in research and development spending.
One concern is that shifting leadership to China could expose vulnerabilities similar to those seen in other sectors where China controls critical supply chains, such as rare earth materials production.
The article highlights AstraZeneca’s recent $15 billion commitment to its operations in China as an example of how global companies are responding to these shifts (https://www.biospace.com/article/clinical-trials-are-increasingly-going-global-with-china-a-main-beneficiary/).
To maintain momentum, some industry voices urge policymakers not to expand government price controls on medicines through mechanisms like Most Favored Nation drug pricing. They cite analyses suggesting that current price control measures under the Inflation Reduction Act could lead to up to 200 fewer new medicines over ten years and result in over one million lost jobs.
Instead of further price controls, advocates call for protection of legislative frameworks such as the Bayh-Dole Act—which allows federally funded research findings to be developed into therapies—and caution against expanding “march-in” rights that they say would undermine innovation without significantly reducing costs for patients.
Public funding also remains central; lawmakers recently reversed proposed cuts to National Institutes of Health funding—a move described as essential for sustaining America’s competitive edge globally.
Addressing healthcare affordability is another priority area. Critics point out that insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) play a large role in determining which medicines are covered and what patients pay—giving them influence unmatched by insurers elsewhere. Recent reforms targeting PBM practices were welcomed by some stakeholders (https://www.biospace.com/article/rare-pediatric-disease-vouchers-reauthorized-pbm-reform-funded-in-narrowly-passed-spending-bill/).
“Last year’s unprecedented commitments by biopharmaceutical companies were a vote of confidence in America’s future,” said a representative from We Work For Health. “Companies demonstrated that they believe America is where the next generation of cures will be discovered and delivered.”
“But momentum isn’t self-sustaining,” they continued. “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,” they added. “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?”
