Easac'10 sb indd

28    | December 2010 | Realising European potential in synthetic biology 

EASAC

However, debate on governance issues must be well 

integrated with discussion on potential benefi ts and 

clarifi cation of the policy issues for supporting R&D. 

This communication model should be adopted by 

other Directorates-General relating to other industrial 

applications. At the same time, the European 

Parliament should also consider how it could help to 

promote stakeholder education and engagement.

•   Initiatives in scenario modelling (led by DG Enterprise 

and Industry with DG Research and sector-specifi c 

Directorates-General, including those with 

responsibilities for Energy, Environment and Security) 

to develop a range of forecasts for future economic 

impact of the applications of synthetic biology 

to inform public debate and help underpin well-

prepared product regulatory procedures.

•   As the fi eld progresses, the European Commission 

should support continuing discussion on what is 

distinctive about synthetic biology and whether new 

issues are raised thereby for the regulation of the 

scientifi c procedures or applications.

•   In the longer term, the European Commission 

should also contribute to economic studies of cost-

effectiveness of the emerging synthetic biology 

innovations in the respective industry sectors, and to 

the use of economic outcome data to inform public 

debate and market development.

These recommendations are challenging because the 

fi eld of synthetic biology is still in its formative stages 

and overlaps with other emerging technologies. 

Furthermore, the science is progressing rapidly. It is 

relevant for the European institutions to consider 

the implications of synthetic biology in their current 

strategy development for related innovation areas, 

for example in biotechnology and nanotechnology. 

Furthermore, in the view of EASAC, synthetic biology 

will become important for the EU strategy for 2020

35

. 

This strategy has highlighted key drivers that include 

‘smart growth’ (developing an economy based on 

knowledge and innovation) and ‘sustainable growth’ 

(promoting a more resource effi cient, greener 

and more competitive economy). In both these 

respects and in the efforts to engage with society, 

developments in synthetic biology are of great 

importance for the EU.

At the end of this project, EASAC confi rms its view 

that the academies, collectively, have an important role 

to identify developing trends while also emphasising 

what is still uncertain in synthetic biology. The timetable 

for societal impact is very diffi cult to forecast: a 

contribution by metabolic engineering can realistically 

be expected within the short term but some of the 

other methodologies reviewed in this report can only be 

anticipated to deliver in the longer term. Nonetheless, it 

is important to prepare for these longer-term advances 

and to manage expectations about their impact. And, to 

reiterate the point made at the beginning of this report, 

whatever the uncertainties about particular applications, 

we are certain that synthetic biology will also be of critical 

importance in contributing to the better understanding of 

natural biological systems.

35  

European Commission “Europe 2020: a European Strategy for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth”, available at 

http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/index_en.htm.

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EASAC 

Realising European potential in synthetic biology | December 2010 |    29

Appendix 1  Academy sources and Working Group composition

A fi rst draft of this report was compiled from information discussed and published by individual academies as follows:

•   The Royal Society: (1) ‘Synthetic Biology Scientifi c Discussion Meeting Summary’, August 2008 (Royal Society 

2008a); (2) ‘Report on the third joint Royal Society-Science Council of Japan workshop on new and emerging 

technologies’, September 2008 and (3) ‘Opportunities and challenges in the emerging fi eld of synthetic biology’, 

symposium July 2009, co-organised with the US National Academies and the Organisation for Economic 

Co-operation and Development.

•   The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, together with the Health Council of the Netherlands and the 

Advisory Council on Health Research, report ‘Synthetic biology: creating opportunities’, September 2008.

•   The Swiss Academy of Sciences Forum on Genetic Research, ‘Fact sheet on synthetic biology’, January 2006.

•   The German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, together with the German Academy of Science and Engineering and 

the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaf, DFG), workshop on Synthetic Biology, Berlin, 

February 2009 and Statement, November 2009.

The member academies of EASAC appointed experts to the EASAC Synthetic Biology Working Group in January 2010. 

The Working Group met in March 2010, with further discussion occurring by email. The Working Group report was 

completed in May 2010 and was independently reviewed by additional experts nominated by EASAC.

Members of the Working Group

Volker ter Meulen (Chairman), German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and EASAC

Bärbel Friedrich, Institute of Biology, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany

Adam Kraszewski, Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznan, Poland

Ulf Landegren, Department of Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Sweden

Peter Leadlay, Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

Gennaro Marino, Department of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Naples, Italy

Vaclav Paces, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Prague, Czech Republic

Bert Poolman, Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute and Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, 

University of Groningen, the Netherlands

György Pósfai, Director, Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Center of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 

Szeged, Hungary

Rudolf Thauer, Max Planck Institute for Microbiology, Marburg, Germany

George Thireos, Director of Research, Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Greece

Jean Weissenbach, Director, Genoscope, France

Robin Fears (Secretariat), EASAC, United Kingdom

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