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Distributed Capability, Shared Vulnerability: International Governance of Biosafety and Biosecurity
Filippa Lentzos1, Gemma Bowsher1
1Department of War Studies, King's College London, London WC2R 2LS, United Kingdom filippa.lentzos@kcl.ac.uk gemma.bowsher@kcl.ac.uk.
Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine
|February 17, 2026
Summary
Global scientific advancements and digitalization are challenging traditional biosafety and biosecurity governance. New strategies are needed for an adaptive, interoperable, and equitable global governance architecture to manage dispersed biological risks.
Area of Science:
- Global Health Security
- Biotechnology Governance
- Risk Management
Background:
- Biological risks are evolving due to globally distributed scientific capabilities and rapid technological change.
- Traditional biosafety and biosecurity governance frameworks face challenges from internationalization of high-risk research and digitalization.
- Divergent national systems and fragmented international instruments create global vulnerabilities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how global dynamics challenge traditional biosafety and biosecurity governance.
- To analyze the implications of internationalization, digitalization, and AI in life sciences.
- To identify strategic gaps and propose priorities for future governance.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing biosafety and biosecurity governance structures.
- Analysis of internationalization of life science capacity and pathogen research.
- Assessment of digitalization, AI-enabled tools, and cloud laboratories' impact.
Main Results:
- High-risk life science capacity is increasingly internationalized.
- Digitalization, AI, and cloud labs expand the scope and accessibility of biological research.
- Fragmented governance and divergent national systems increase global vulnerability.
Conclusions:
- Existing governance architectures are insufficient for managing dispersed biological risks.
- There is a need for adaptive, interoperable, and equitable governance.
- Priorities include addressing cross-border collaboration, material/data movement, and information integrity.
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