Food and Drug Law Institute(FDLI), Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies Co-Sponsor Major Conference on Nanotechnology Law, Regulation and Policy

Top Government Officials Will Explain Regulatory Plans for Cutting-Edge Technology at National Meeting Feb. 28-29 in Washington, DC.

Nanotechnology was incorporated into more than $50 billion in manufactured goods last year, according to Lux Research. By 2014, the market will grow to $2.6 trillion. By 2011, over $15 billion in nano-enabled drugs and therapeutics will be sold—up from more than $3 billion in 2006. And industry experts project that nanotechnology will be incorporated into $20 billion worth of consumer food products by 2010.

Yet, despite this rapid commercialization, no nano-specific regulation exists anywhere in the world. Most regulatory agencies remain in an information-gathering mode—lacking the legal and scientific tools, information and resources they need to adequately oversee expediential nanotechnology market growth.

Now, for the first time, top officials at the agencies responsible for the regulation of nanotechnology products—including the Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Department of Agriculture—will meet at a Food and Drug Law Institute conference to discuss their plans for managing and monitoring these products.

At FDLI’s 1st Annual Conference on Nanotechnology Law, Regulation and Policy, February 28-29, 2008, at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel, in Washington, D.C., food and drug industry representatives also will find out what’s happening internationally on nanotech regulation, how venture capitalists look at the future of nanotechnology and what the leading corporations, scientific laboratories and academic centers are focusing on in this dynamic field.

This groundbreaking conference, co-sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars’ Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, in partnership with Arizona State University and the Burdock Group, will address the crucial issues surrounding nanotechnology law, regulation and policy, including:

• What first and second generation nanotechnology products already are on the market, and what is to come?
• Is Congress ready to act on nanotechnology if federal regulators do not?
• Do Europe and Asia approach nanotechnology safety and oversight differently than the United States?
• How do consumers see nanoproducts?
• When it comes to nanotechnology, should size make a regulatory difference?

Michael Taylor, Research Professor of Health Policy, School of Public Health and Health Services, The George Washington University, and author of the most comprehensive report published on nanotechnology regulation, Regulating the Products of Nanotechnology, Does FDA Have the Tools It Needs?, will present the keynote address. Also, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), co-chair of the Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus, and invited luncheon speaker, will discuss future congressional actions in this area.

Top-level FDA officials, including Associate Commissioner for Science Norris Alderson; Deputy Commissioner for Planning Randall W. Lutter; Deputy Associate General Counsel Jeffrey Senger; and Director of Food Additive Safety Laura Tarantino, will appear on a special panel on FDA regulation of nanotechnology.

Other featured speakers and moderators include:

Jay M. Ansell, Personal Care Products Council

Susan D. Brienza, Of Counsel, Patton Boggs LLP

George Burdock, President, Burdock Group

Robert W. Carpick University of Pennsylvania Director, The Nanotechnology Institute

Ricardo Carvajal Counsel, Reed Smith LLP

Jim Czaban, Partner, WilmerHale

Lee Farrow, Senior Vice President, ACE Medical Risk

Piotr Grodzinski, Director, NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer, NIH

Ralph Hall, Professor, University of Minnesota Law School

Robert A. Hoerr, President & CEO, Nanocopoeia, Inc.

Michael Holman, Senior Analyst, Lux Research

Karen Hunter, Program Specialist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service

Rachel G. Lattimore, Partner, Arent Fox LLP

Scott Livingston, Managing Director, Axiom Capital Management/The Livingston Group

Jane Macoubrie, President, Embry Research

Ellen Maldenado, Attorney-at-Law

Gary Marchant, Lincoln Professor of Emerging Technologies, Law & Ethics Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law

Philippe Martin, Principal Administrator, Nanotechnologies Policy Development and Coordination, Consumer Protection Directorate (DG-SANCO), European Commission

Terry L. Medley, Global Director, Corporate Regulatory Affairs, DuPont Environment and Sustainable Growth Center

Julia A. Moore, Deputy Director, Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Sean Murdock, Executive Director, NanoBusiness Alliance

Fern P. O’Brian, Partner, Arnold & Porter LLP

Leon Radomsky, Chair, Nanotechnology Industry Team, Foley & Lardner LLP

David W. Rejeski, Director, Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Stephanie Scharf, Partner, Schoeman Updike Kauffman & Scharf

Dietram Scheufele, Professor of Life Sciences Communication, University of Wisconsin

Loretta Schuman, Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Laura Sciarrino, Vice President, Legal, CV Therapeutics, Inc.

Jim Willis, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.