Biotech in the Balance

“The choice to invest in vaccines rather than in weapons; in treatments for rare diseases rather than in speculative consumer products; in long-term infrastructure rather than in short-term optics—these are not technical decisions. They are moral decisions . . .”

Biotech in the Balance by Dr. Jeremy M. Levin shows why the next lifesaving medicines may not arrive on time, and what we can do about that in a period of political change. This is not a technical book. It is a bedside-to-boardroom story, told from inside the system, with a clear map of what has to change so that medicines keep arriving when people need them. When funding for research and development is politicized, trust in science erodes and the foundations of biotechnology weaken. When science is treated as a partisan symbol rather than a shared foundation for health, patients and families bear the consequences.

Dr. Levin’s career began as a scientist studying the structure of DNA, and then as a physician in university hospitals in London, Cape Town, and Geneva. As a doctor, he saw the difference between patients saved by medicines that arrived just in time, and those who were not so fortunate. That experience led to a simple conviction: drug discovery and development is not an abstract business. It is a living coalition of scientists, governments, businesses, and—above all—patients. For patients and their families, profitability and internal strategy are not the point. What matters is whether a therapy works, how quickly results can be seen, and how benefits are weighed against risks—including the risk of doing nothing.

Throughout the book, Dr. Levin keeps patients at the center of the discussion—politics, markets, supply chains, and governance—and shows how each of these forces can accelerate or delay medical progress. Written from the perspective of a scientist and physician, Biotech in the Balance argues for a resilient, globally competitive biotechnology industry built to serve patients and earn lasting public trust. It offers a call to action for preserving biotechnology as a strategic asset—and a practical framework for leaders who want to strengthen the system rather than merely defend it.