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EC Commissioners resign en blocAs a result of heavy criticism of some European Commissioners during February and March this year, all the Commissioners resigned shortly after a report from independent audit experts. The heaviest criticism was reserved for Mme. Edith Cresson, responsible for Research, Science and technology development. In spite of the resignations, the Commissioners are continuing to run their respective departments. The resignations have already had impacts, including delays to proposed revisions and drafts of regulations and Directives concerning medical devices. FP5 callsThe first call for proposals under the Quality of Life programme was issued March 6th and that for the GROWTH programme was issued March 16th, at the same time as calls for horizontal programmes of Improving Human Research Potential and Socio-Economic Knowledge Base. Further information is available at the Cordis site, www.cordis.lu, followed by / and the short name of each programme (i.e. /life, /growth, or /improving). The FP5 Evaluation Manual has been published on the Cordis site, see http://www.cordis.lu/FP5/home.html. It contains information relating to the criteria for evaluation of proposals and should be helpful for anyone intending to submit a proposal to any of the calls. FP5 Evaluation ManualThis has been published on the Cordis site, see http://www.cordis.lu/FP5/home.html. It contains information relating to the criteria for evaluation of proposals and should be helpful for anyone intending to submit a proposal to any of the calls. EC publishes review of Thematic networks activities 1994-1998Over 230 pages, this review is priced at 26.50 ecu from the EC’s official publications office, L-2985 Luxembourg, and from national offices supplying EC publications, reference ISBN 92-828-2976-6. The European Biomaterials Network is featured on pages 96-97. Of the 416 other networks, there are some that might provide cross-fertilisation with elements of the EBN, including IDMAP (Intelligent devices for on-line management of machining processes, B Wybranski wybranski@vdivde-it.de), European textile and clothing research network (constantin.carl@infoboard.be), FOS-EN (fibre-optic sensor European network – François Paquis, Uni Jean Monnet St-Etienne fax +33 4 77 42 17 97), Rapid prototyping and tooling (Frits Feenstra f.feenstra@ind.tno.nl), MICROCAP (Microencapsulation for low cost, high volume, pharmaceutical applications, Bernard Marty microlithe@aix.pacwan.net), Vacuum coating of polymer films for packaging and technical applications (Horst-Christian Langowski la@liv.fhg.de), MENUSIM (Polymer processing: measurements and numerical simulation, jleblanc@ccr.jussieu.fr), Targeted research action on polymer materials (e.p.brouwer@e3t.nl), IFEL (Microwave applications of industrial free electron lasers, j.lucas@liv.ac.uk), PHIDIAS (rapid prototyping and emdical imaging technique for manufacture of medcial models, Kris Wouters medical@materialise.be), SPIN (Solids processing industrial network mike.battrum@basf-ag.de), MATMED (Materials in Medicine R.vandeLeur@ind.tno.nl), NANOMAT (nanopowders – preparation and processing, Elisabetta Borsella deste@padova.infm.it). Council of Europe seeks to ban xenotransplantation studiesThe Council of Europe, a body that predates the European Commission, has proposed a ban on transplantation of viable animal tissue into humans, and the use of such tissues and cells in extracorporeal devices. The Council was responding to a proposal from a French MP that expressed concern that the risks involved were too high to be acceptable. The risks mentioned were not just those of short-term infection, but included the long-term impact of animal genes from xenotransplants on the human gene pool, ethical concerns, and long-term effects of transmission of viruses. Although the Council of Europe proposal is unlikely to have much effect on the European Commission or on CEN’s standards dealing with animal-derived tissues, the decision will be heavily used by members of the national and European Parliaments to pressurise Departments of Health in individual countries to ban or delay transplant and treatment studies. This already seems to have happened in Spain. The proposed ban has been referred to Bioethics and health working party, the members of which have 3 years to come to firm recommendations. The Biomaterials PartnershipA new UK initiative is the Biomaterials Partnership, based at the Laboratory of the Government Chemist, Teddington UK. The aim is to promote the interests of the UK Biomaterials community and to contribute to the health and wealth of the UK by stimulating a greater share of the rapidly-growing World market in this area. The Partnership is aimed at clinicians, scientists, the National Health Service, industrialists and other organisations interested in biomaterials. It will produce a Newsletter ‘Action for Biomaterials’, construct a web-site and organise conferences and workshops, as well as providing an information service for individual queries. A computerised database is being established to carry information on all UK organisations and interests in the biomaterials field. Some of the information will be restricted to subscribers. Contacts for this are Brian Kent, Carolyn Garcia and Jeanette Hawkes at The Biomaterials Partnership, LGC (Teddington) Ltd, Queens Road, Teddington TW11 0LY UK, tel +44 (0)181 943 7596, fax +44 (0)181 943 2767, Email biomaterials@lgc.co.uk. The European Science Foundation approves scientific programme into complex polymer structuresNovember 1998, the European Science Foundation (ESF) approved eight different scientific programmes, of which one concerns experimental and theoretical investigations of complex polymer structures. The budget for the approved programmes comes from the national research organisations that are members of ESF. The polymer programme aims to gain a deeper understanding of complex structures such as dendrimers, multicomponent networks and branched polymers, and what links there are between the chemistry of the constituents and the properties of the final materials. Further information can be obtained from www.esf.org The current president of the ESF is Sir Dai Rees, Chairman of the UK’s Medical Research Council. Bayer Polymers DivisionBayer Polymers Division has published a new reference guide to its high-performance polymers for medical applications. Although aimed at the USA market, it has excellent general information on performance characteristics, joining methods, chemical resistance and typical use. Copies from Bayer Polymers Marketing Communications Group, 100 Bayer Road, Pittsburgh PA 15205-9714 USA, tel +1 412 777 2000 fax +1 412 777 4889, http://www.bayer.com/polymers-usa Tissue & Cell Engineering Society UKA new society has been formed in UK to enhance tissue and cell engineering research and promote contacts between researchers, clinicians and industrialists. The Tissue and Cell Engineering Society (TCES) is based at the University of Nottingham and is being co-ordinated by Dr Kevin Shakesheff. Further information is available from Dr Shakesheff at the School of Pharmace3utical Sciences, University of Nottingham NG7 2RD or from the Society’s web-site www.nottingham.ac.uk/pharmacy/tissue-eng/TCES The Tissue & Cell Engineering Society will hold its first meeting in London 5-6 July 1999. European Centre of Excellence in Product Innovation and CoatingThe Dutch organisation TNO has formed a European Centre of Excellence in Product Innovation and Coating (EPC) with the German Institute for New Materials in Saarbrücken. The new centre is a 50:50 joint venture and will focus on the applications of nanoparticles for coatings, binders, ceramics and hybrid materials. The research programme will begin in the individual institutes but be moved into the new centre when the premises are finalised. How much of the work will focus on biomaterials and biocompatible products is not defined yet. Royal Academy of EngineeringThe Royal Academy of Engineering in UK has announced the launch of the Sainsbury Management Fellowships in the Life Sciences, substantial awards of several thousands of pounds to allow management and business-orientated junior staff to be trained for high executive roles in the life science industries. Applicants must be UK citizens, be aged between 26 and 38 and ideally have a PhD in a relevant subject. Candidates are generally expected to be UK residents but applications, which may be made at any time, will also be accepted from UK citizens based outside the UK. For further information contact EurIng Ian J Bowbrick, The Sainsbury Management Fellowship Scheme, the Royal Academy of Engineering, 29 Great Peter Street, Westminster, London SW1P 3LW UK, tel +44 (0)171 222 2688 fax +44 (0)171 233 0054, E-mail bowbricki@raeng.co.uk New findings for silicone – FDA exempts manufacturers from requirements for post-marketing surveillanceA panel of US independent scientific experts reported in late 1998 that they could find no evidence that silicone used in breast implants is an immunotoxin or causes autoimmune diseases. The panel found that most if not all of the studies that claimed to show a relationship between silicone breast implants and autoimmune diseases were flawed, sometimes in several aspects of design, procedures, recording or analysis. The results of the review will be used in the legal cases against Bristol-Myers Squibb, 3M and Baxter Healthcare. Dow has already established a fund to settle cases brought against it in various class actions. How this will affect progress of these cases is not clear. In addition, what impact it will have on the ban on silicone implants that is currently in place in France, is not known. However, the FDA has made the decision to exempt a number of manufacturers of silicone implants from the mandatory tracking requirement. The UK Foresight ExerciseThe UK DTI’s Office of Science and Technology published a consultation paper on the future of the Foresight programme in Spring 1998. Following a review initiated as part of the White Paper produced by Peter Mandelson, until recently the Minister of Trade and Industry, the UK Government has decided to renew the Foresight programme. One of the panels that will be retained in this, to provide guidance and feedback for policy, will be Materials. Given the establishment of a UK Biomaterials Network, a new LINK scheme for materials, a biomaterials centre at the Laboratory of the Government Chemist and the activities of the European Biomaterials Network in UK, the Materials panel will be an important route into Government and may provide a leverage point for ensuring that biomaterials is placed higher on the agenda in future. The UK DTI is planning two new metrology programmes dealing with biological activity of particulates from implants and characterisation of implant fixation in orthopaedics. The projects are expected to extend for 3 years from September 1999. The emphasis of the projects is on development of new test methods that will assist industry. Industrial involvement is encouraged. For further information contact alan.hickman@eam.dti.gov.uk MedLINKThe MedLINK programme in the UK has a further £3m of funds available for projects in the medical devices area. Grants of up to 50% are available for suitable collaborations between industry and research organisations that lead to new devices. Biomaterials R&D is eligible within this scheme. The main criteria for funding are: will the project satisfy an important clinical need; will there be innovative research in collaboration with a science-based partner; does the project include a route to market for the eventual innovative device. For information, contact Matthew Chapman mc@quotec.demon.co.uk The current MedLINK projects of relevance to the EBN include the following:
For further details contact Matthew Chapman; please copy biomateria@biobridge.co.uk on your request. The Knowledge NetworkThe Newsletter produced by TNO, the Dutch Research organisation, has highlighted the creation of an Internet site http://www.nl-knowhow.org as the home of The Knowledge Network. The site consists of a collection of over 250 profiles of R&D-intensive institutions, universities and companies in the Netherlands. The organisations and companies were selected by NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research) and Senter (Agency for Technology, Energy and Environment). The site is intended not only for information but also to help people make scientific and commercial contacts and encourage co-operation. To be included, institutions and organisations had to fit criteria of scientific quality and international orientation and companies needed to participate in the national R&D tax scheme and employ over 250 people. In addition, suggestions came from the ministries represented in the Partner in Knowledge Steering Group and from interested companies. The Netherlands is an important contributor to world R&D. Dutch research in the natural and engineering sciences figures in the "Top Ten" of the most productive (number of academic publications) and influential (number of citations) countries in the world. The Netherlands spends almost 12 billion guilders a year on scientific and technological research. Companies with large R&D laboratories include the multinationals Philips, Shell, Unilever, Akzo Nobel and DSM, all textbook examples of successful international co-operation. Excellence in areas relevant to biomaterials includes materials technology, process technology, computational modelling and simulation, biotechnology, medical technology and production technology.
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