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WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. lawmakers are raising alarms about what they see as America’s failure to compete with China in biotechnology, warning of the risks to U.S. national security and commercial interests. Bills have been introduced in the House and Senate to bar “foreign adversary biotech companies of concern” from doing business with federally funded medical providers. Photos You Should See View All 33 ImagesCritics of the legislation warn that restrictions on Chinese companies would impede advances that could bring a greater good. “It’s not just a supply chain battle or a national security battle or an economic security battle; I would submit it’s a moral and ethical battle,” Gallagher said. He said any restrictive U.S. measures should be tailored to address military concerns and concerns about genomic data security.

Persons: walling, ”, Abigail Coplin, Rachel King, Mike Gallagher, Gallagher, “ It’s, ” Gallagher, “ we’re, Biden, Tom Bollyky, Bollyky, Ray Yip, Yip, “, Anna Puglisi, Puglisi, ” Puglisi, BGI, WuXi AppTec, Dake Kang Organizations: WASHINGTON, — U.S, Biotechnology, Bills, Embassy, Biden, Vassar College, Biotechnology Innovation Organization, National Security Commission, Emerging Biotechnology, U.S . Senate, Chinese Communist Party, Wisconsin Republican, “, Bloomberg, Council, Foreign Relations, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Georgetown University’s Center for Security, Emerging, The Defense Department, Commerce Department, Associated Press Locations: China, U.S, ”, South China, Wisconsin, Boston, United States, WuXi, Beijing

☆ Plant-Based Plastics Gain Favor as Companies Pursue Sustainability Goals
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Plant-based plastic, that is. However, the environmental benefits of plant-based plastics are increasingly appealing to companies promising to use more sustainable materials by the end of the decade. Plants absorb the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide, which cuts the greenhouse-gas emissions from making bioplastics to at least half that of fossil-fuel-based plastics. A Lululemon shirt containing plant-based nylon. Only plant-based plastics that are chemically identical to fossil-fuel–based versions can enter the existing and growing recycling infrastructure.

Persons: Bioplastics haven’t, Michael Carus, “, ” Carus, Eastman, Chris Killian, bioplastics, Warby Parker, ”, Biden, Manav, olefins, Dow, bioethylene, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis, Haley Lowry, Dieter Holger Organizations: Sustainable Business, Kodak, U.S . Defense Department, European, dieter.holger Locations: China, Japan, biomanufacturing, U.S, Iowa

☆ With a world-class workforce and a booming economy, North Carolina repeats as America's Top State for Business in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Scott Cohn | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

North Carolina Gov. North Carolina ranks first in the all-important Workforce category of CNBC's study. Strong workers fuel GDP, solid state finances North Carolina's strong workforce helped feed its performance in other categories. "It's clear that the Republican legislature is aiming to choke the life out of public education," Cooper said on May 24. Abortion rights demonstrators gather to protest in Raleigh, North Carolina, after the Supreme Court's decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health case, June 24, 2022.

Persons: Bosch, Roy Cooper, Joe Biden's, Melissa Sue Gerrits, Josh Wright, Charlotte, it's, You've, Wright, Cooper, Tricia Cotham, Cotham Organizations: State, Business, North Carolina, CNBC, North Carolina Gov, Getty, Apple, Triangle, Democrat, Raleigh, U.S . Labor Department, Commerce Department, Federal Housing Financing Agency, Census, ATTOM Data, Technology, Innovation, Capital, Republican, Republicans, General, Jackson, Anadolu Agency Locations: North Carolina, Lincolnton, Greensboro, Goldsboro, American, Durham, Wolfspeed, Durham , North Carolina, East Coast, America, Alaska, Massachusetts, North, Raleigh , North Carolina, Dobbs

☆ Novavax stock spikes 20% after company snags $350 million from Canada for unused Covid shots
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

It's unclear how many doses of Novavax's jab – its only commercially available product after 35 years – went unused. Under the amended agreement, Novavax will also provide Canada with fewer doses of its vaccine on a revised delivery schedule. In May, Novavax adopted a more positive outlook and announced a sweeping cost-cutting plan alongside its first-quarter earnings report. Novavax's stock price jumped around 30% on that news, but Wall Street hasn't entirely bought into the recovery plan: The company's stock price is still down roughly 15% since the start of the year after shedding more than 90% of its value in 2022. Novavax still faces a number of challenges ahead, including competing with Pfizer and Moderna in the commercial Covid vaccine market and a pending $700 million arbitration over a canceled vaccine purchase agreement.

Persons: –, Novavax Organizations: SEC, Canadian, Securities and Exchange Commission, Pfizer, Moderna Locations: Maryland, Canada

☆ Lululemon used tiny organisms instead of fossil fuels to make the nylon for its new shirt
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Conventionally, nylon is mostly made from ingredients sourced from fossil fuels like coal, natural gas or crude oil. "It's been estimated that 8 to 10 percent of all human-associated nitrous oxide emissions come from this single industrial process" to make adipic acid, Wallace told CNBC. To make the nylon precursor used in the Lululemon shirts, Geno uses biological organisms instead of chemicals from fossil fuels. "Because nylon, like it or not, has a lot of good value," Reddy told CNBC. "Look at those first-generation replacement straws — they didn't work, and everybody's annoyed," Reddy told CNBC.

REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinHONG KONG, Sept 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - China biotech’s American honeymoon is ending. Key to his initiative is ensuring that “biotechnologies invented in the United States of America are made in the United States of America”. With more bad news set to trickle out of Washington, Chinese biotech companies have a bitter pill to swallow. The order "directs the federal government to ensure biotechnologies invented in the United States of America are made in the United States of America," Biden said. Hong Kong shares of WuXi Biologics, a Chinese contract drug manufacturer, closed down 20% on Sept. 13 to HK$53.40.

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