Bespoke regulation for bespoke medicine? A comparative analysis of bioprinting regulation in Europe, the USA and Australia

Abstract

Like most health-technology innovators, bioprinters are required to traverse a complex landscape featuring varied forms of regulation. This article focuses on one of the most complex aspects: the requirement imposed by regulatory authorities to satisfy them of the safety, efficacy and clinical utility of resultant healthcare products. Satisfaction of such requirements can result in a significant lag between ‘breakthrough’ and clinical delivery. This article examines this aspect of regulation in the USA, Europe and Australia, three leading bioprinting research jurisdictions. In particular, it examines medical devices and medicines categories of regulation, questioning whether a new approach to regulation is required or whether existing product-based regimes are sufficiently adaptive.