4 April 2013 -- Eight synthetic biology (synbio) companies have joined the BioIndustry Association (BIA) to form a new group working on this emerging area of bioscience.
Synbio is the design and engineering of biologically based parts, novel devices and systems as well as the redesign of existing, natural biological systems. It has the potential to deliver important new applications and improve existing industrial processes - resulting in economic growth and job creation.
The eight companies founding the BIA synbio group are: Algenuity, Biosyntha, Genabler, Green Biologics, Oxitec, Prokarium, Synpromics and Synthace.
Lionel Clarke, Chairman of the UK Synbio Leadership Council said:
“I am extremely pleased to see that the Roadmap is already delivering such a positive impact - raising the profile of Synthetic Biology companies within the UK, and galvanising action aligned with our vision. This will provide a valuable forum for bringing together and representing the ongoing interests of this rapidly developing industrial community.”
Steve Bates, BIA Chief Executive Officer, said:
“I am delighted to welcome these exciting companies into membership of the BIA. I believe these companies will benefit significantly from joining a trade association that has a proud and strong track record in representing innovative start-up life science companies.
“Additionally, our expertise in finance, intellectual property, regulation and policy will help accelerate the development of these companies and enable them to exploit their potential faster. This will help the UK to deliver on its plan to be a world leader in this space in the coming years.
“The BIA shares the vision of the UK roadmap for synbio and through the working group will help enable companies to develop these technologies for commercial use.
“Existing BIA members, who are largely in the healthcare arena, are likely to be a key user of synbio tools for drug development in future, so by bringing the synbio companies under the BIA umbrella there are strong synergies and a shared community that all companies will find useful.”
Tim Fell, Non-executive Director at Synthace, said:
“This group is very well placed to ensure that all see the wide ranging opportunities this emergent technology presents. Through stakeholder discussion - a key element of the synbio roadmap - we hope this group will help remove barriers, reduce commercial and technical risk, build a community of practitioners and create momentum through critical mass, thereby accelerating our collective journey to market.”
For further information, please contact Robert Winder, Head of Communications, rwinder@bioindustry.org, 020 7630 2191; mobile 07825 942 934.
BIA synbio group
Algenuity http://www.algenuity.com
Biosyntha http://www.biosyntha.com
Genabler http://www.genabler.com
Green Biologics http://www.greenbiologics.com
Oxitec http://www.oxitec.com
Prokarium http://www.prokarium.com
Synpromics http://www.synpromics.com
Synthace http://www.synthace.com/
Synthetic biology roadmap for the UK
http://www.innovateuk.org/_assets/tsb_syntheticbiologyroadmap.pdf
Image
An image of Steve Bates, BIA Chief Executive Officer, David Willets, Minister of State for Universities and Science, and Tim Fell, Non-executive Director at Synthace, at the Synthace laboratory at UCL is available: http://bit.ly/BIA_synbio
BioIndustry Association
Founded over 20 years ago at the infancy of biotechnology, the BioIndustry Association (BIA) is the trade association for innovative enterprises involved in UK bioscience. Members include emerging and more established bioscience companies; pharmaceutical companies; academic, research and philanthropic organisations; and service providers to the bioscience sector. The BIA represents the interests of its members to a broad section of stakeholders, from government and regulators to patient groups and the media. Our goal is to secure the UK’s position as a global hub and as the best location for innovative research and commercialisation, enabling our world-leading research base to deliver healthcare solutions that can truly make a difference to people’s lives. For further information, please go to www.bioindustry.org
