On April 5, 2016, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) posted the Agenda for the first open session of its committee on “Future Biotechnology Products and Opportunities to Enhance Capabilities of the Biotechnology Regulatory System.” The Committee is beginning a study to provide an independent and objective examination of the future products of biotechnology, as commissioned pursuant to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s (OSTP) July 2, 2015, memorandum, “Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products.”  The first Committee meeting is scheduled for April 18, 2016, from 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. (EDT). 

According to the Agenda, the speakers for the April 18 meeting include representatives from the study sponsors: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and OSTP. The Chair of the Committee, Richard Murray, and the Study Director, Douglas Friedman, will be providing the welcoming remarks and introduction.

Registration, available online, is strongly encouraged for in-person attendance and for viewing the webcast. A limited public comment period will be offered to in-person registrants only. A sign-up sheet will be available at the meeting starting at noon on April 18. The Committee will accept written comments and materials over the course of the study via input form on the study’s website.

The Committee members have been appointed, but will only be confirmed once the formal comments on the appointments, which were due April 6, 2016, have been reviewed.