STANDARDS FOR REGENERATIVE MEDICINE AND ADVANCED THERAPIES (RMAT)

https://www.nist.gov/mml/bbd/standards-bioeconomy/standards-needs A new report, co-written and edited by NIST scientists, calls for developing key standards and metrics for the global bioeconomy. The global bioeconomy is estimated at $4 trillion, though, as the report points out, there is no agreed-upon definition of what the bioeconomy entails. There is also a lack of consensus around lexicon and terminology; metrology and metrics to quantify biological processes; and metrics and standardization for sustainability assessments, according to the report. “This gap in specific standardization and metrics applicable to fast-paced, advancing biotechnologies based on engineering biology [also known as synthetic biology] is likely to cause significant challenges going forward,” states the report, entitled “Engineering Biology Metrics and Technical Standards for the Global Bioeconomy.” The report’s recommendations include “establishing best practices and developing technical standards and metrics specific to engineering biology” and continued collaboration among stakeholders in academia, government and regulatory agencies, nonprofits and research institutes. NIST scientists Elizabeth A. Strychalski, Sheng Lin-Gibson and Eugenia Romantseva contributed to the report. Other participating organizations include Imperial College London, the Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC), the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Schmidt Sciences.