This bill would add a new section to the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to create a National Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Center of Excellence. The NIST Director would award a competitive grant or enter into another transaction agreement with one eligible non‑Federal entity (a public‑private partnership, an institution of higher education, or a consortium of those groups) to establish and run the Center. The Center's goals include improving biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, supporting good manufacturing practices and standardization, strengthening supply chains, and providing workforce training. The Center may receive funds to build or expand facilities, carry out collaborative scaling research, run workforce programs, and support other related research. The Director must solicit applications within 180 days and consider factors such as past performance, regional reach, co‑investment, proximity to manufacturing infrastructure, and time to become operational. The Director must ensure the Center sets intellectual property guidelines before operations begin. The bill requires public reports: an initial report one year after the award, a progress report one year after operations begin, and a final report five years after operations begin. The bill authorizes $120,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 to carry out the section.
If enacted, the bill aims to create a single, NIST‑backed center to help move biopharmaceutical ideas from labs to larger production. Universities, regional training programs, and private manufacturers could partner with the Center or apply to run it. The bill emphasizes training workers, so students and job seekers might see new training or apprenticeship opportunities tied to biomanufacturing. Companies involved in biopharmaceutical manufacturing could access shared facilities, demonstrations of scaling technologies, or collaborations with the Center. Federal agencies would receive and be able to use shared information on best practices generated by the Center.
The bill authorizes $120,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 to carry out this section. The bill also asks applicants to show co‑investment from Federal, State, private, or other sources, but it does not specify amounts. No publicly available information on costs beyond the single fiscal year authorization or on total long‑term funding needs.
Supporters in the bill's findings and the Sense of Congress say a national Center would accelerate manufacturing innovation, reduce dependence on foreign supply chains, support quality and standardization, and help build a skilled biomanufacturing workforce. The bill frames the Center as a way to help U.S. industry scale promising biopharmaceuticals from lab to commercial production and to keep technological leadership in the United States.
No publicly available information.