SCB Workshops Engage the Gene Therapy and Tissue Engineering Community in Prioritizing Standards Needs

Washington, DC (May 10, 2019) — Building on the momentum of the March 18–19 Realizing the Benefit of 21st Century Cures through Standards Development workshop, SCB recently hosted two smaller-scale workshops to engage gene therapy and tissue engineering stakeholders in identifying and prioritizing standards needs. The workshops were aligned with the timing of existing regenerative medicine events as a way of gathering valuable community input and feedback on standards from stakeholders who had come together to discuss their sector’s challenges and opportunities.

The gene therapy workshop, A Call to Arms for Standardization: Establishing Regenerative Medicine Standards, was held on March 26 as a complement to the Gene Therapy for Rare Disorders Conference in Boston, MA. The workshop offered attendees an overview of the gene therapy standards landscape, the role that SCB plays in coordinating standards, and ways to get involved in standards development. The 12 attendees assessed the impact and urgency of specific standards needs, providing their perspectives on which needed standards areas could most benefit the gene therapy field.

The tissue engineering workshop—part of the ARMI|BioFabUSA Standards Working Group Meeting held on April 15 in Minneapolis, MN with support from SCB and Medtronic—focused on educating the tissue engineering community on standards needs and increasing their participation in the standards development process. During the workshop, SCB and ARMI|BioFabUSA provided approximately 20 participants with a forum to review the current landscape of tissue engineering standards, identify standards needs within that landscape, and discuss approaches to address them. The attendees also participated in targeted exercises on developing standards in the bioprinting space. The standards development needs identified at both workshops are being incorporated into the Community Perspectives: Needed Standards in Regenerative Medicine report.

Enabling the community to play a greater role in prioritizing standards needs was one of the goals set out by SCB in its plan to help support and strengthen the regenerative medicine standards development process. SCB is pleased to put these plans into practice and see the growing interest in regenerative medicine standards, and will continue to organize events to engage the community in standards advancement.

If you would like to learn more about participating in standards advancement, contact SCB or sign up for our e-newsletter (below).