Former U.S. Commerce Secretary and Ambassador to China and former House Financial Services Committee Chairman join bipartisan effort to strengthen America’s medicine security

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The American Biosecurity Initiative (ABI) today named former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke and former Congressman Patrick McHenry as Senior Advisors.

Locke and McHenry will help guide ABI’s work to make America’s ability to discover, develop, and manufacture medicines a core national security priority.

“Gary Locke and Patrick McHenry bring extraordinary experience in economic competitiveness, national security, and U.S.-China policy,” said ABI Executive Director Jennifer Crook. “Medicine is a national security asset. America cannot wait for the next crisis to secure the scientific and manufacturing capacity we depend on.”

The United States remains heavily reliant on overseas supply chains for critical parts of its medicine supply. ABI is working to strengthen U.S. biopharmaceutical capabilities, build more secure supply chains with trusted allies, and protect America’s leadership in biotechnology. Locke served as Governor of Washington from 1997 to 2005, U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 2009 to 2011, and U.S. Ambassador to China from 2011 to 2014.

“I saw firsthand how seriously China takes biotechnology and medicine,” said Locke. “The United States needs to be just as serious. We should be strengthening what America does best — discovering new medicines, bringing them to patients, and making more of them here at home.”

McHenry represented North Carolina’s 10th District in Congress from 2005 to 2025 and served as Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. He is now a Distinguished Fellow at Georgetown University’s Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy.

“America leads the world in discovering medicines because our system lets capital and science find each other,” said McHenry. “That advantage took decades to build, and protecting it requires a strategy that lasts longer than any one Congress or administration. I’m joining ABI to help build that bipartisan consensus.”

ABI is assembling leaders from government, finance, health care, intelligence, trade, manufacturing, and national security to help shape a durable U.S. biotechnology strategy. “America cannot defend itself or compete economically without the ability to discover, develop, and manufacture the medicines its citizens and armed forces need,” Crook added. “Locke and McHenry understand how economic strength and national security reinforce each other. Their experience and voices will make ABI stronger.”

About ABI
The American Biosecurity Initiative advances policies to strengthen U.S. leadership in biotechnology and secure America’s medicine supply. Its priorities include scientific research, faster and more modern regulatory pathways, stronger domestic biopharmaceutical manufacturing, more secure supply chains with allies, access to world-class scientific talent, and stronger federal coordination on biotechnology. To learn more about ABI and its advisors, visit americanbiosecurity.org.

To learn more about ABI and its entire list of advisors, visit https://www.americanbiosecurity.org/.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/american-biosecurity-initiative-names-gary-locke-and-patrick-mchenry-senior-advisors-302880878.html

SOURCE American Biosecurity Initiative