Publications: Stephen Ezell

For policymakers to bolster the global competitiveness and innovation capacity of their regions, they must first understand their regions’ strengths and weaknesses. This report—by 11 think tanks from the Global Trade and Innovation Policy Alliance (GTIPA)—benchmarks 213 regions of 13 transatlantic countries using 14 commonly available innovation indicators.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the general-purpose technology of this decade, and possibly even this century, with impacts predicted to be as deep and diffuse as electricity and the Internet. As with other general-purpose technologies in their nascent stages, much still remains uncertain regarding AI’s capacity and direction. This report provides GTIPA members’ perspectives the state of innovation policy on AI around the world, compiling 32 vignettes from 28 think tanks in 30 countries.

Heavy dependence on Chinese APIs creates risks to the drug supply and national security. To reduce dependence, U.S. policy should support domestic and allied production through the advanced manufacturing innovation, tax incentives, import limits, regulatory reforms, improved analysis, and targeted procurement, including strategic stockpiling.

NIH and other federal agencies must adopt a more comprehensive framework for measuring scientific impact, one that captures industry outputs such as new drug development, industry investment in university research, the translation of discoveries into commercial and clinical outcomes, the depth of international scientific partnerships, and the strength of the biomedical talent pipeline.

Instead of copying other OECD countries in a “reference-price-race-to-the-bottom,” U.S. policy should instead encourage peer countries to appropriately value innovative medicines.

The era of free trade globalization is over. To replace it, the United States should lead a new class of binding deals with allies, with a dual objective of strengthening allied national economic power industries and weakening China’s.

China has utilized numerous illegitimate tools in pursuit of global leadership in biopharmaceutical manufacturing, including IP theft, forced labor, and stealing genetic information. This must be met with a swift and forceful response from U.S. policymakers.

China is becoming an increasingly capable competitor in the global pharmaceutical industry, with growing strengths at every level of the biopharmaceutical supply chain. Responding to this challenge will require a comprehensive, whole-of-government strategy, with strong cross-agency collaboration, to advance U.S. biopharmaceutical competitiveness.

OMB’s proposed rule to increase the productivity and success of the U.S. scientific research establishment is commendable. But the rule in its totality would introduce dangerous and counterproductive revisions to the Uniform Guidance that would drastically reshape the American scientific enterprise for the worse and impose severe and long-lasting economic damage.

China has become an increasingly capable competitor in the global biopharmaceutical industry. To remain competitive, the United States should double down on policies to ensure that it offers the world’s leading environment to support private sector life sciences innovation.