Industry

Businesses working on the biotechnological industry have seen how the requirements they have to meet when using marine biological resources for commercial purposes have increased.

The Nagoya Protocol and its associated regulation on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) aims to create incentives to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity by ensuring fair sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. However, it raises concerns about the addition of bureaucratic barriers to biotechnology research. The European Blue Biobank will lessen industry end users burden by supporting them on accessing Marine Biological Resources in compliance with ABS regulations, thus removing barriers for commercial use of MBRs and biotechnological innovation.

Under the EBB project, a series of practical use-cases involving end-users of MBRs for commercial research (typically biotech SMEs), providers (biobanks) and Competent National Authorities (CNAs) will be tested, in order to understand the practicalities of MBR acquisition / provision in compliance with ABS regulations. The lessons learnt from these use-cases will form the base for the development of a set of Best Practice Guidelines on Accessing MBRs for Commercial or close-to-market Research under ABS legislation, creating a clearer, simpler and legally safer bureaucratic landscape for entities wishing to access MBRs with applied research purposes.

Main resources for industry:
- End-users practical use-cases: understanding the practical implications for end-users of the application of procedures to comply with ABS regulations when accessing MBRs

- Best Practice Guidelines on Accessing MBRs for Commercial or close-to-market Research under ABS legislation

- Access System to the European Blue Biobank