Nucleic Acid Synthesis Screening

Block unauthorized access to dangerous biological materials at the point of nucleic acid synthesis.

Last updated: October 1, 2026

5-year budget target

$75M

Pillar

Prevent

Five-Year Trajectory

2027

Advance mandatory nucleic acid synthesis screening legislation in the U.S., EU, and UK

2028

Move synthesis screening from legislative and standards work into implementation across providers in major jurisdictions

2029

Enforce synthesis-screening compliance and independent verification in major jurisdictions

2030

Achieve broad compliance with synthesis screening, KYC, AIxBio safeguards across distinct model tracks, and misuse monitoring

2031

Sustain global DNA synthesis screening and benchtop device safeguards at 99%+ coverage

Current Status of the Field

Technology

Commercial synthesis screening tools are mature enough for broad deployment; the remaining technical frontier is stronger function-based screening,26,27 split-order detection, audit tooling, and safeguards for benchtop synthesis devices.28

Policy

Some jurisdictions are moving from voluntary guidance toward mandatory screening, but standards, audit requirements, and benchtop-device controls remain uneven.29–31

Bottleneck

Key bottlenecks32 are legal requirements to screen nucleic acid synthesis orders across jurisdictions when synthesis capacity is concentrated, and enforceable adoption across the global synthesis market, especially smaller providers, resale channels, and device manufacturers outside the largest jurisdictions.

The Problem

Anyone who wants to build a dangerous pathogen will likely need synthetic nucleic acids to do it, making synthesis screening one of the most powerful opportunities to prevent misuse of bioscience and biotechnology. Today, a significant fraction of commercial DNA synthesis providers do not screen orders for dangerous sequences, almost no jurisdictions legally require them to do so, and most benchtop synthesis devices do not incorporate robust safeguards. Providers that do screen usually operate in isolation, creating opportunities for bad actors to split orders across firms and evade detection.

The Solution

Synthesis screening is currently the single highest-leverage chokepoint in the biological supply chain for many threat actors. The underlying screening technologies are already relatively mature. The central challenge is not scientific feasibility but deployment: providers must be required, enabled, and verified to use them. Accelerating mandatory screening, improving detection of evasion techniques, and extending safeguards to benchtop and mail-order synthesis should therefore be among the first priorities of the plan.

Objectives

◆99%+ of global commercial DNA synthesis orders are screened against international standards, with independent auditing and legal mandates in all major jurisdictions
◆99%+ of benchtop nucleic acid synthesis devices incorporate automated screening safeguards, with legacy devices secured via regulated resale requirements

Urgent 2027 Milestone

Enact mandatory nucleic acid synthesis screening laws in the U.S., EU, and UK, driving toward 99%+ of global commercial DNA synthesis orders screened against international standards.

Long-term Targets

Global DNA synthesis screening coverage

99%+ by 2031

Device safeguard coverage for benchtop synthesis

99%+ by 2031

Year-by-Year

2027 — Build the foundation

Philanthropy

•Fund advocacy and coalition-building to secure legislative mandates for nucleic acid synthesis screening in major jurisdictions
•Fund pilot threat-sharing mechanisms across providers to detect split orders
•Fund development of technical standards for mail-order and benchtop synthesis screening
•Fund independent audit infrastructure to verify screening compliance

Private Sector

•Industry standards for synthesis screening are developed and adopted by key providers.
•Implement mail-order screening and integrate remote screening into new benchtop devices
•Participate in split-order detection pilots and prepare for independent verification

Government

•Advance or enact legislation mandating DNA synthesis screening in key jurisdictions
•Begin development of technical standards for mail-order and benchtop screening and require safeguards in benchtop approval and sale
•Facilitate or authorize cross-provider threat data sharing where needed

2028 — Pilots into operating systemsPrevent-level actions

Philanthropy

•Continue funding deployment of screening software and independent audit capacity across providers, including smaller and international firms
•Support implementation-focused KYC tools and verification infrastructure
•Continue funding separate AI-bio evaluation tracks for frontier LLMs, biological AI models, and autonomous-lab workflows
•Support broader bio-audit adoption, institutional awareness, and development of publication-risk-management norms
•Continue support for misuse-detection tooling and cross-provider threat-sharing systems

Private Sector

•Implement standardized synthesis screening and customer verification at scale
•Participate in split-order detection systems and submit to independent screening verification where possible
•Expand KYC adoption across high-risk vendors and service providers
•Make AI-bio evaluation and safeguard deployment routine across separate LLM, biological AI model, and autonomous-lab tracks
•Expand participation in bio-audits, accident reporting, pre-publication review, and institutional adoption pilots
•Routinely share threat signals and maintain misuse monitoring

Government

•Move from legislative or rulemaking activity to initial compliance and oversight in synthesis screening and KYC
•Support independent verification of AI biorisk evaluation and safeguard adoption through track-specific formal agreements or requirements
•Expand implementation of accident-reporting requirements, research-risk oversight, and institutional participation pathways
•Support law-enforcement pathways for escalating provider-generated threat signals

2029 — Scale and enforcePrevent-level actions

Philanthropy

•Support more advanced evasion-resistant and function-based screening R&D
•Support scaling of KYC tools and red-teaming across a broader set of high-risk service categories
•Support secure data infrastructure for high-risk biological AI training data and continued safeguard research across LLM, bio-AI-model, and autonomous-lab tracks
•Support global governance reform, institutional adoption, and continued capacity-building for bio-audits and risk-based research oversight
•Support public communication efforts that reinforce deterrence posture and accountability

Private Sector

•Submit to independent screening verification and deploy updated screening algorithms
•Extend KYC and more extensive customer vetting to newly covered categories such as CROs, cloud labs, repositories, and AI/bio tools
•Continue safeguard deployment for high-risk AI systems and participate in track-specific red-teaming
•Expand compliance with institutional risk-governance requirements, adoption programs, and misuse monitoring mandates

Government

•Enforce synthesis-screening compliance and audit requirements
•Regulate the secondary market for benchtop synthesis devices and broaden KYC requirements to additional high-risk categories
•Mandate safeguards for high-risk AI systems with biological capabilities across separate LLM, biological AI model, and autonomous-lab pathways
•Institutionalize accountable public oversight for high-consequence biological research, including licensing, institutional participation, and bio-audit frameworks
•Institute requirements for misuse monitoring and threat sharing for high-risk biological services

2030 — Achieve durable readinessPrevent-level actions

Philanthropy

•Focus remaining philanthropic capital on gap-closing, deterrence signaling, and ensuring high-risk systems actually perform under stress
•Support maturation of attribution capabilities and public communication around accountability
•Continue targeted support for jurisdictions, sectors, or institutions lagging in compliance, AIxBio safeguards, or research-governance adoption

Private Sector

•Achieve broad compliance with screening, KYC, safeguard, and misuse-monitoring requirements
•Maintain regular red-teaming, audit participation, and rapid remediation processes
•Support stronger bioforensic attribution capability through data-sharing and exercise participation

Government

•Ensure broad compliance and meaningful enforcement across screening, KYC, AIxBio safeguards, and research governance
•Verify that high-risk LLM, biological AI model, and autonomous-lab safeguards perform under stress
•Establish or strengthen attribution and accountability doctrine for biological attacks
•Exercise bioforensic and deterrence capabilities routinely

2031 — Maintain defensive advantagePrevent-level actions

Philanthropy

•Focus on closing residual gaps, supporting lagging geographies or sectors, and maintaining pressure for continuous improvement
•Continue support for frontier-risk research, AI-bio track-specific evaluation, institutional research-governance adoption, residual-risk assessment, and measurement refinement