UK outlines engineering biology vision

Government pledges £2bn investment to develop sector

THE UK government has said it will invest £2bn (US$2.5bn) over the next ten years in engineering biology disciplines as part of a national vision to develop and commercialise opportunities within the sector. Public investment towards world-class research and development on the critical challenges faced in the field will also be targeted, ministers said.

However, some experts say that while the announcement is encouraging, the vision lacks quantitative measures, and the funding is on par with what is already spent by government.

The vision builds on a call for evidence issued to the engineering biology community in July, after the government identified the field as one of five critical areas, along with quantum technologies, AI, semiconductors and future telecommunications, that have the potential to grow apace.

Based on the feedback, the government said it will plough money into key areas that will help generate trillions of pounds in economic opportunities. These include infrastructure to boost innovation and scale it up; regulation to help engineering biology-derived products reach market; data harmonisation; and the growth and retention of a diverse talent pool.

In a speech outlining the terms of the plan Andrew Griffith, minister of state for science, research and innovation, praised the sector, saying the brightest innovators were pioneering new solutions across industries that will make future generations healthier, more prosperous, and live more sustainably. “It was this country that produced the minds who discerned the theory of evolution, discovered the structure of DNA, and invented how to read its sequence,” Griffith said.

Government defines engineering biology as the design, scaling and commercialisation of biology-derived products and services that can transform sectors or produce existing products more sustainably. It draws on the tools of synthetic biology, and is underpinned heavily by DNA and its applications, but its reach is far and wide.

From medical therapies, crop varieties and eco-friendly fuels to alternative proteins and sustainable chemicals, engineering biology has the potential to revolutionise thousands of products. But like other transformative industries, competition is growing.