Biofoundries provide an integrated infrastructure to enable the rapid design, construction, and testing of genetically reprogrammed molecules or organisms for biotechnology applications and research. The Global Biofoundry Alliance (GBA) was established to coordinate activities across biofoundries globally. Over the past 5 years especially, research institutions around the world have been establishing biofoundries to expand their biotechnology development capacities. However, the existence of these biofoundries is not yet widely known within the biotechnology or broader biological research communities.

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The GBA consists of over 40 member biofoundries. We hold one Annual Meeting and operate several working groups and a mailing list. If you are interested in joining the work or receiving updates, please reach out using the contact form.

History

To enable global coordination of these efforts, 15 not-for-profit biofoundries from four continents gathered in London in June 2018 to discuss the formation of a Global Biofoundry Alliance (GBA) that would enable the collective to share experiences and resources and work together to overcome shared challenges and unmet scientific and engineering needs. Several operational challenges reverberated through the June meeting. Participants frequently expressed concerns over sustainable biofoundry growth and development, commenting on the high costs of retaining staff, maintaining infrastructure, and replacing equipment at a predictable rate. Small user bases and a limited awareness of biofoundry capabilities among potential users currently limit the revenue streams that could eventually offset these expenditures. High experimental costs are also a significant barrier for the academic community and indicate that an extended period of public investment will be necessary to enable the benefits of biofoundries to impact the broader research community.

The GBA was formally launched on May 9th, 2019 in Kobe, Japan, during a meeting of the Founding Members. The GBA has agreed to a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding, which does not establish any legal rights or obligations, but is a voluntary arrangement dependent upon goodwill and cooperation. Signing parties are research institutions, research funding agencies, or other entities that operate non-commercial biofoundries, as well as other organizations that actively support public-funded biofoundries. The parties have non-overlapping missions with for-profit entities.