We have tracked vital recent developments in health security, bioengineering, synthetic biology, biotechnology, and medical technology  – which are compiled here. The future of the U.S. Bioeconomy is crucial to the future of strategic competitive advantage globally – all of which was discussed in a future-forward fashion at OODAcon 2023.

Overall, the bioeconomy and medical technology platforms also show clear signs in 2024 as the innovation space best positioned to deploy best-in-class enterprise platforms and use cases of generative AI, artificial intelligence, and machine learning (which other emerging technology innovators, cybersecurity professionals, and industry sectors should have an instinct to track closely and to emulate).

The Future of the Bioeconomy in 2024

“Business model innovation and value propositions will emerge from computational architectures designed to uniquely service this emerging industry sector.”

New Genetic Frontiers:  There have been groundbreaking advancements in genetic engineering and new medical technologies are poised to disrupt the dialogue on health, ethics, global security, and the future of humanity.   We explored these disruptive technologies at OODAcon 2023, such as the revolutionary CRISPR gene-editing tool, breakthroughs in synthetic biology, and the emergence of exponential medical treatments that demonstrate rapid adoption properties.  In this OODAcon 2023 session, Natalie Barrett, Phaedrus Engineering, Biomedical Engineer, Marc Salit, MITRE Fellow, Synthetic Biology, and Andre Watson, CEO, Ligandal, Biomaterials Scientist, shared the following really actionable and forward thinking insights.

Recent Developments

The Future Now: The State of the Bioeconomy in 2023:  The Bioeconomy in 2023 is showing clear signs of opportunities for advantage created by the exponential disruption of the industrial base (including that of defense), coupled with exponential biotechnological innovation to build the bioeconomy of the future.  The State of the Bioeconomy in 2023 includes:

• Exponential Organizational Ecosystems at Speed and Scale;
• Blockchain Technologies; Artificial Intelligence in Biotechnology, Genomics, Healthcare and Medical Tech;
• Biomanufacturing in Cislunar Space; and
• Health Security and Cybersecurity Challenges.

Details of current breakthroughs and strategic directions for each category can be found here.

Innovative Blockchain Technology Case Studies (by Industry Sector) – Blockchain Technologies in The Bioeconomy, Biotechnology, and Healthcare:  Over the course of 2022 and 2023, The OODA Loop Blockchain Series has explored blockchain disruption in the market and new opportunities created by blockchain technologies in both the public and private sectors.  Innovative blockchain technology efforts (by industry sector)  – with a focus on how the blockchain enables new business models, opportunities for innovative value proposition design, and decentralized governance – are listed here.

Exponential Innovation and Building the Bioeconomy of the Future:  Last year, we launched the Opportunities for Advantage Series to explore how exponential disruption and innovation require organizations to focus efforts to gain advantage. In a recent review of the series, we found that there were patterns and groupings which deserved to be highlighted to jumpstart the series for this year. To start, We found that the future of biotechnology was a cluster in the series, pointing to the opportunities for advantage created by the exponential disruption of the industrial base (including that of defense) coupled with exponential biotechnology innovation to build the bioeconomy of the future.  The following posts are a primer on the potential of such an effort  – including the challenges, threats, risks, and opportunities ahead for your organization in this technology and business ecosystem of the future.

“AI for Enterprise”: Lessons Learned from Healthcare, Hugging Face and Clinical Language Models:  Healthcare is already in the midst of an AI revolution – with an applied technology market maturity which outpaces most other industry sectors which are in a reactive mode to the AI hype cycle.  Explore these AI healthcare use cases and apply them to your organization using design and systems thinking.

The Medical Cybersecurity Bill and the Health and Location Data Protection Act:  The issue of cybersecurity in the healthcare sector and, specifically, medical device vulnerabilities have always been included in our OODA Loop Daily Pulse.   Archived coverage and early signals on the issues at hand here.

The New Tech Trinity: Artificial Intelligence, BioTech, Quantum Tech: Will make monumental shifts in the world. This new Tech Trinity will redefine our economy, both threaten and fortify our national security, and revolutionize our intelligence community. None of us are ready for this. This convergence requires a deepened commitment to foresight and preparation and planning on a level that is not occurring anywhere. The New Tech Trinity.

The Revolution in Biology: This post provides an overview of key thrusts of the transformation underway in biology and offers seven topics business leaders should consider when updating business strategy to optimize opportunity because of these changes. For more see:  The Executive’s Guide To The Revolution in Biology

Materials Science Revolution: Room-temperature ambient pressure superconductors represent a significant innovation. Sustainability gets a boost with reprocessable materials. Energy storage sees innovations in solid-state batteries and advanced supercapacitors. Smart textiles pave the way for health-monitoring and self-healing fabrics. 3D printing materials promise disruptions in various sectors. Perovskites offer versatile applications, from solar power to quantum computing. See: Materials Science

For more OODA Loop News Briefs and Original Analysis, see OODA Loop: Biotechnology | Genetics | Genomics | Healthcare | Medical Tech

Additional OODA Loop Resources

Planning for a Continuous Pandemic Landscape: COVID-19’s geopolitical repercussions are evident, with recent assessments pointing to China’s role in its spread. Regardless of the exact origins, the same conditions that allowed COVID-19 to become a pandemic persist today. Therefore, businesses must be prepared for consistent health disruptions, implying that a substantial portion of the workforce might always operate remotely, even though face-to-face interactions remain vital for critical decisions. See: COVID Sensemaking

The Future of Biosafety and the Global Gain-of-Function Research Ecosystem:  Researchers from the the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) recently mapped “the gain- and loss-of-function global research landscape.”  We contextualize the CSET findings relative to the biosafety levels in U.S. biomedical laboratories. A looming question:  do other countries have the adequate commitment to health security and biosafety measures in their high risk pathogen research?

An OODAcast Conversation – Joe Tranquillo on the Revolution in Biological Science:  Joe Tranquillo is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Bucknell University and a provost at the school.  He is also and author and speaker with a knack for helping make new and at times complex subjects understandable. In this OODAcast we discuss many aspects of the revolution in biological sciences with Joe including topics like:  New ways of delivering medicines that target specific tissues; Discovery of the structure of almost every human protein; Methods to synthesize biomolecules, which can result in ways to manufacture a wide range of materials like therapeutics, flavors, fabrics, food, fuels; and New ways of growing food that are more productive and take fewer pesticides and fertilizers.

AI-powered Genomics: The convergence of machine learning, deep learning and genomics, especially in the area of AI-powered genomic health prediction, while remarkably promising will also present remarkably challenging unintended consequences.  A recent report suggests areas which need to be explored  – : starting now –  as “the issues posed by the…technologies become harder to predict, more complex and more numerous.”