Biosecurity

The RIAP is an expert advisory group of leading academics and industry figures from across the engineering biology, life science and biotech sectors. BIA has represented industry on this panel since its inception in 2023.

This forum supports the UK’s commitment to being a world leader in responsible innovation, shaping international norms and standards.

Through our membership we support policy making by:

• providing a feedback loop between industry and government
• supporting Government to engage industry and horizon scan for emerging risks
• ensuring policies to mitigate emerging risks are proportionate and meet the needs of industry
• contributing towards the UK’s efforts to be a world leader in responsible innovation and shape global norms and standards.

The National Security and Investment regime requires certain types of investments in companies working on Synthetic Biology and Artificial Intelligence to have proposed investments cleared by the Government ahead of completion to ensure there is no risk to national security.

The UK Government has produced guidance on the NSI Act – we recommend members review this to better understand their obligations and to answer key questions about the regime.

Learn more in our National Security and Investment Resource Hub.

We are actively engaged in national and international discussions on the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol and the treatment of digital sequence information under the Convention on Biological Diversity framework. These negotiations have significant implications for research, data access and commercialisation across biotech and life sciences research.

The Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit sharing (ABS) is an international agreement which aims at sharing the benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way.

The Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit sharing (ABS) is an international agreement which aims at sharing the benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way. The UK ABS Regulations may apply to UK companies conducting research and development on genetic resources, where the genetic resources were accessed on or after 12 October 2015 from a country that is party to the Nagoya Protocol and has access and benefit sharing (ABS) legislation.

DSI is digital genetic data that has been sequenced from the natural world and been made available for use in research. Under the multilateral mechanism for the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits from the Use of DSI on Genetic Resources, companies who use DSI are encouraged to contribute to the Cali Fund. Companies and institutions that benefit from the use of DSI in their commercial activities can contribute to the fund on a voluntary basis. The fund is intended to support further use of DSI and the conservation and sustainable use of nature, with a significant proportion flowing to Indigenous People and local communities. 

BIA advocates for the voluntary nature of the Cali Fund to continue to enable biotechs to innovate. 

BIA support the biodiversity objectives of the CBD. We are invested in assisting in the development of a workable solution for the fair sharing of benefits arising from the use of 
DSI on genetic resources while safeguarding biotech companies’ ability to innovate, scale, and succeed.