Trump administration issues formal ban on gain-of-function research

The Trump administration has formalized a prohibition on gain-of-function research, according to a joint announcement by the State Department and the Department of Health and Human Services. Citing potential threats to lives and national security, the rule eliminates federal funding for these studies in the United States and in foreign nations that do not meet strict safety criteria. This action builds on an executive order signed by Donald Trump last year that already barred U.S. money from supporting such work in places like China, where the COVID-19 lab-leak theory originated.

Undersecretary of State Tom DiNanno and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya helped craft the policy, which also expands oversight of other high-risk biomedical work. The departments called for international partners to join the effort and adopt robust biosafety and biosecurity measures. While still supporting vaccine, therapeutic and diagnostic development, the administration stresses that the most hazardous research must be tightly controlled.