Survey Finds China Threatening US Lead in Biotech Innovation

Most respondents said China poses an existential threat and believe the U.S. lead may last less than a decade.

A bottle of antidepressant pills in Miami on March 23, 2004. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A survey of U.S. industry leaders published on June 21 found America holds advantages in commercialization, funding, and talent in biomedical science, but China has surpassed the United States in the number of clinical drug trials.

The survey, released on Monday at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) meeting in San Diego, polled 117 senior figures from industry and academia.