National Bioeconomy Blueprint Calls for More Research Prizes, Collaborations

Last week, the White House released a comprehensive national strategy to guide federal investments and collaborations with the private sector in the life sciences. The National Bioeconomy Blueprint identifies five strategic objectives that will inform administration efforts to boost the bioeconomy. Key among these objectives is the expansion of foundational, cross-disciplinary research, which will require improved funding mechanisms that are flexible enough to support many kinds of collaborations and that encourage high-risk/high-reward research. The publication also includes a list of current federal life science initiatives and how they relate to the strategic goals.

The first of the blueprint's five objectives is a call to provide strategic investment in foundational research that is under-supported by the private sector. Private businesses are often reluctant to invest in cutting-edge multidisciplinary research because of the high-risk/high-reward nature of such endeavors. The plan challenges federal agencies to bring together experts in diverse fields to conduct through flexible programs that can accommodate many types of collaborations. In particular, the Administration is advocating increased use of prizes and challenges that target strategic areas of research.

Other objectives include an increased focus on life science entrepreneurship and commercialization, streamlining regulations and review processes, aligning the work of workforce training programs and academic institutions with the needs of the private sector and supporting the development of public-private collaborations.

The White House also announced several initiatives related to the goals included in the blueprint. Highlights include:

• Expanding the biobased products purchasing program;
• Funding for the construction of private biofuel production facilities;
• Remaking the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) archives as a virtual network for multi-disciplinary research;
• Expanding support for induced pluripotent cell technology research through the NIH Intramural Center for Regenerative Medicine;
• Focusing more USDA research and collaborations on biomass production; and,
• Applying knowledge of the human genome to microbial forensics analysis through the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate.

Read the National Bioeconomy Blueprint...