The European Commission (EC) announced on January 29, 2025, that it launched a Biotech and Biomanufacturing Hub to support companies — particularly start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) — in bringing innovative products to the European Union (EU) market and increase their competitiveness. According to the EC, the Hub will also help companies identify available support at the EU level and how to access this support to help them expand and grow. The EC...
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November 20, 2024
Biomanufacturing Interagency Working Group Identifies Actions to Increase U.S. Biomanufacturing Capacity
On November 15, 2024, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a report by the Biomanufacturing Interagency Working Group entitled “Building a Vibrant Domestic Biomanufacturing Ecosystem.” The Working Group includes representatives from the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of State, the...
The Agile BioFoundry’s (ABF) 2024 Industry Day will be held virtually on September 12, 2024. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), ABF aims to develop biomanufacturing tools, processes, and partnerships that enable sustainable industrial production of renewable fuels and chemicals. Attendees will:...
March 28, 2024
EC Publishes Communication on Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing, Announces Targeted Actions
The European Commission (EC) announced on March 20, 2024, that it has proposed a series of targeted actions to boost biotechnology and biomanufacturing in the European Union (EU). The EC states that its March 20, 2024, Communication on Building the future with nature: Boosting Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing in the EU “identifies the challenges and barriers and proposes to tackle them, in line with the Communication on the long-term competitiveness of the EU.” According to the...
March 26, 2024
White House Launches National Bioeconomy Board
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced on March 22, 2024, the launch of the National Bioeconomy Board, co-chaired by OSTP, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of Defense. The Board also includes representatives from nine additional federal departments and agencies: the U.S. Department of State, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Aeronautics...
March 1, 2024
European Industries Call for “Bold and Impactful” Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative
EuropaBio, the European Association for Bioindustries, announced on February 21, 2024, the release of a position paper calling for “bold ambition, and five core principles to ensure impactful industrial growth.” According to the position paper, “EC Initiative on Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing: Principles for an impactful Europe,” the European Commission’s (EC) forthcoming Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative “is a unique opportunity for the [European Union (EU)] to build...
February 1, 2024
EuropaBio Publishes Biomanufacturing Global Series Reports on the United States, India, and Japan
EuropaBio, the European Association for Bioindustries, has begun publishing a Biomanufacturing Global Series. To date, EuropaBio has published the following one-page summaries, providing information on a country’s policies, targets, and investments:...
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced on July 17, 2023, that it will host a Bioenergy Cybersecurity Workshop, a virtual event organized by Sandia National Laboratories on September 11, 2023, to identify cybersecurity risks in biofuel and bioproduct manufacturing, and develop an approach to address these risks. According to BETO, the workshop will raise awareness of the importance of cybersecurity in...
July 6, 2023
EuropaBio Offers Recommendations on Biomanufacturing
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton On June 30, 2023, EuropaBio announced that it “set[] in stone the first European recommendations on biomanufacturing with the publication of its Biomanufacturing Policy Summit 2023 report.” On March 15, 2023, EuropaBio hosted its inaugural Biomanufacturing Policy Summit in Brussels, “marking the first major milestone from its newly established Biomanufacturing Platform.” The Summit captured priorities of 80 industry leaders,...
July 3, 2023
OSTP Announces New Action Plan to Bolster, Expand, and Diversify the Biotechnology and Biomanufactur
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton On June 27, 2023, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced the release of a new action plan intended to “rapidly and equitably expand biotechnology and biomanufacturing education and job training programs in the United States.” According to OSTP, biomanufacturing “is a critical aspect of advanced manufacturing that can drive new, sustainable alternatives across industries” and “can unlock new...
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a request for information (RFI) on April 27, 2023, seeking public input on existing or potential bioeconomy-related industries and products that are established, emerging, or currently embedded in existing industry/manufacturing processes. 88 Fed. Reg. 25711. As reported in our September 13, 2022, blog item, on September 12, 2022, President Joseph Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) creating a...
April 5, 2023
DOD Publishes Biomanufacturing Strategy and RFI on Biomanufactured Products and Process Capabilities
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton As part of the National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) announced in September 2022 an investment of $1.2 billion in bioindustrial domestic manufacturing infrastructure to catalyze the establishment of a domestic bioindustrial manufacturing base accessible to U.S. innovators. As reported in our March 30, 2023, blog item, on March 22, 2023, DOD released its Biomanufacturing Strategy to guide these...
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton As reported in our March 30, 2023, blog item, on March 22, 2023, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a new report, Bold Goals for U.S. Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing: Harnessing Research and Development to Further Societal Goals. The report includes five sections, each presenting goals that highlight what could be possible with the power of biology. The goals set ambitious national targets...
March 30, 2023
Biden Administration Announces New Goals and Priorities to Advance Biotechnology and Biomanufacturin
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton As reported in our September 13, 2022, blog item, President Joseph Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) on September 12, 2022, creating a National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative “that will ensure we can make in the United States all that we invent in the United States.” On March 22, 2023, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) published a fact sheet announcing “new...
March 21, 2023
National Academies Publishes Proceedings of Workshop on Successes and Challenges in Biomanufacturing
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton That National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) hosted an October 2022 workshop on successes and challenges in biomanufacturing. The workshop brought together biomanufacturing stakeholders across industry, academia, and government with expertise across diverse fields, including United States-based and international speakers. According to NASEM, discussions spanned the breadth of biomanufacturing contexts and applications,...
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) recently announced the selection of five external collaborations totaling over $3.7 million to conduct research and development (R&D) needed to accelerate the U.S. biomanufacturing sector. Working with scientists at the Agile BioFoundry (ABF) consortium, these industry and academic groups will leverage national laboratory capabilities to address challenges in...
December 20, 2022
OSTP Publishes RFIs on Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology and National Biotec
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton As reported in our September 13, 2022, blog item, on September 12, 2022, President Joseph Biden signed an Executive Order creating a National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative (NBBI) to accelerate biotechnology innovation and grow America’s bioeconomy across multiple sectors in industries such as health, agriculture, and energy. On December 20, 2022, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) published two...
December 2, 2022
EuropaBio Announces Biomanufacturing Platform
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton EuropaBio announced on November 14, 2022, a new cross-sectoral Biomanufacturing Platform. EuropaBio states that the Platform has the mission to represent biomanufacturing at the highest policy levels in Europe and to ensure that it is visible and recognized within the industrial strategy and Europe’s green and digital transitions. The Platform will address the policy and wider frameworks through which biomanufacturing is delivered. EuropaBio...
September 19, 2022
BETO Announces Webinar for Stakeholders to Learn to Accelerate the Biomanufacturing Process
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and the Agile BioFoundry (ABF) will hold a webinar on September 22, 2022, highlighting technologies used by the ABF to accelerate biomanufacturing. According to BETO, the ABF consortium collaborates with industry and academia to develop technologies that enable commercially relevant biomanufacturing of sustainable bioproducts. During the webinar, attendees will hear from ABF...
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton On September 12, 2022, President Joseph Biden signed an Executive Order creating a National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative “that will ensure we can make in the United States all that we invent in the United States.” On September 14, 2022, the White House will host a Summit on the National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative during which cabinet agencies will announce a wide range of new investments...