(500a) Niimbl: The National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals

Technology innovation, workforce development, and regulatory advancement have been a hallmark of the industry for the past several decades. As the industry continues to expand, mature and evolve, there are new opportunities for shared risk in technology innovation, for partnerships to facilitate training, and for new approaches to engage with health authorities. It can be argued that collaborative efforts in this space, done appropriately, can reduce the burden and investment that would otherwise be required by individual organizations to advance their technology needs and address issues with speed, quality, and cost. At the same time, there is significant diversity in the industry in product types as well as projected needs which may mitigate some of the benefits for collaborative efforts moving forward. This presentation is intended to catalyze a discussion regarding the opportunities and challenges associated with collaborative technology development and will include a discussion about the ways that health authorities and federal agencies can foster collaboration among biopharmaceutical manufacturers, suppliers, government, and academic partners through a Manufacturing USA institute.