Mass. lawmaker Auchincloss favors boosting U.S. biotech over targeting China

Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) told the STAT Summit in Boston that Congress should invest in domestic biotech rather than rely on protectionist policies against China, which he said hurts U.S. competitiveness. He plans to introduce a bill modeled on Australia's system, letting early-phase trials bypass pre-approval evaluation by the national regulator to speed U.S. research. He also criticized the FDA's National Priority Voucher program and OMB proposals to override peer review, and backed cracking down on PBM practices and reforming 340B.