Mass. biotech firms join alliance to counter competition from China
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A group of biotech leaders, including three based in Massachusetts, have joined forces to try to maintain the nation's lead on biotech innovation.
Why it matters: Unlike China, the United States has no national strategy on biotech innovation — and competitors in China are catching up quickly, Patroski Lawson, CEO of the firm KPM Group DC, tells Axios.
Catch up quick: Lawson founded the American Biotech Innovation Alliance, which launched Tuesday with 21 founding members.
- The alliance now has at least 27 members, including Cambridge-based Moderna, Boston-based Praxis Precision Medicines and Southborough-based consulting firm Milstone Heights.
- Lawson said he's in talks with other companies interested in joining.
State of play: The alliance now has at least 27 members, including Cambridge-based Moderna, Boston-based Praxis Precision Medicines and Southborough-based consulting firm Milstone Heights.
- Lawson said he's in talks with other companies interested in joining.
Zoom in: The alliance aims to develop a national biotech innovation strategy with input from company leaders, as well as federal and state government officials, patient groups and academics, Lawson said.
- Members haven't met yet to discuss what such a strategy could look like, but Lawson foresees it could address venture capital funding, workforce development and AI strategy for biotech companies.
- The alliance will function more akin to a think tank than a biotech trade association or lobbying group, Lawson said.
Threat level: ABIA's website states that China controls 80% of production for active pharmaceutical ingredients.
- It also states that U.S. biopharmaceutical companies send 30% of FDA-approved drug workflows offshore to Chinese contractors, citing a 2025 RAND report.
- Massachusetts' pipeline growth (13.9%) outpaced the nation's (6.8%) in 2025, but China's pipeline growth outpaced both (37.3%).
What they're saying: "It is not in our best interest as a country to let Massachusetts or the Boston biotech hub ... be diluted in any way, shape or form," Lawson says.
- "Our strategy for 2030 should be about making Boston even bigger, making it even more influential than what it is."
What we're watching: ABIA members plan to meet next week to discuss next steps, including its strategic plan for the next year.
- The alliance also plans to hold conversations with policy leaders and others about what makes an innovative biotech company versus other companies in the life sciences sector.
Editor's note: This story was updated to include an interview with ABIA founder Patroski Lawson.