{"id":611060,"date":"2024-06-11T11:26:24","date_gmt":"2024-06-11T15:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/bio-2024-education-can-improve-regulation-biotech-innovators-say\/"},"modified":"2024-06-11T11:39:33","modified_gmt":"2024-06-11T15:39:33","slug":"bio-2024-education-can-improve-regulation-biotech-innovators-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/bio-2024-education-can-improve-regulation-biotech-innovators-say\/","title":{"rendered":"BIO 2024: Education can improve regulation, biotech innovators say","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

With rapid innovations in agriculture, energy, and environmental biotech, the industry must try to educate regulators and the public about the latest scientific advances and their benefits, said experts in a June 5 panel<\/a> at the BIO International Convention in San Diego.<\/p>\n

While scientific discoveries will always outpace regulation, the panelists explained how their companies\u2019 innovations in sustainable food and energy production have a better chance of obtaining investment and reaching the market if the time and complexity of regulation can be reduced.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor biotechnology products like those that are represented up here on the dais, more than one agency has jurisdiction over a single product at different points in the value chain,\u201d said Tad Sonstegard, Ph.D., a BIO Board Member and CEO of Acceligen, which is developing animals resistant to heat<\/a> and disease<\/a>. This can lead to delays that impact the return on investment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe onus actually may be on us\u2014and other stakeholder groups and like-minded developers, communicators, and advocators\u2014to communicate to our policymakers the need for updated regulatory and policy paradigms,\u201d Sonstegard said.<\/p>\n

The challenges with current regulations<\/h2>\n
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Tad Sonstegard, Ph.D., a BIO Board Member and CEO of Acceligen, at the 2024 BIO International Convention in San Diego.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When describing the challenge of bringing regulation up to date, Cameron Bishop, head of the Washington office for J.R. Simplot Company, which develops crops with longer shelf lives<\/a>, said regulation is still based on the Food and Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938. Of course, the law has been updated and amended many times since then, but the rules still go back to outdated roots, he said.<\/p>\n

For sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), regulation has focused on specifics like \u201clists of eligible feedstocks or prioritizing one conversion technology over others,\u201d said Emily Carlton, SAF Policy Specialist at LanzaJet<\/a>. Instead, she recommended \u201crigorous, science-based\u201d regulation that is feedstock- and technology-neutral, focusing on total carbon emissions over a product\u2019s lifecycle.<\/p>\n

Sonstegard\u2019s company Acceligen produces slick-coat cattle, which are better able to withstand the heat brought on by climate change. In 2022, the cattle became the first gene-edited food animal to receive a \u201clow-risk determination\u201d<\/a> from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, other countries follow the more streamlined Cartagena Protocol<\/a> for biotech regulation, which allows innovation to come to market much faster, he said.<\/p>\n

Education is key to advancing biotech innovation<\/h2>\n

The key to encouraging streamlined regulation is educating others about the science behind your innovation, the panelists agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need to interact with the regulators, and you need to interact with the legislators,\u201d Bishop stressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if you don\u2019t think you have anything to say, go to D.C. and educate them on what you do\u201d and make lawmakers comfortable with complex topics, he explained. That way, when the topic comes up again, they\u2019ll remember it and be ready to address it.<\/p>\n

According to Carlton, the people who need to be taught are all over the government. For example, the Treasury Department updated its measurement of lifecycle emissions<\/a>, benefiting SAF makers when it comes to receiving tax credits. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which has regulatory authority, is not as advanced on the subject.<\/p>\n

Watch our interview with Emily Carlton, SAF Policy Specialist at LanzaJet<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018Four corners of regulation\u2019<\/h2>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got four corners of regulation,\u201d added Bishop. \u201cYou\u2019ve got your innovators; you\u2019ve got your regulators; you also have your detractors; and then you have public perception.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted that detractors frequently oppose innovation without any scientific basis. However, they can organize and have a heavy impact on public comment periods for new regulations. Therefore, it\u2019s important to ensure that regulators and the public are well informed about innovation to counter the impact of detractors.<\/p>\n

The public can also be an important ally in calling for expedited regulatory change. For example, consumer sentiment on SAF is quite positive.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget regulators in other countries, who impact how easy it is to export products, and suppliers, who impact where innovations are sold.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you know, Whole Foods is not allowed to sell clones?\u201d Sonstegard asked. \u201cSome of these policies are really based on science fiction and not science.\u201d<\/p>\n

Header Image: Emily Carlton, SAF Policy Specialist at LanzaJet, at the 2024 BIO International Convention in San Diego.<\/em><\/p>\n