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International regulatory changes poised to reshape access to marine genes

Nature Biotechnology volume 37, pages 357–358 (2019)Cite this article

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To the Editor — In 2014, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity’s Nagoya Protocol entered into force, creating a legal framework to regulate access to genetic resources within national jurisdictions based on prior informed consent and mutually agreed terms of benefit sharing between ‘provider’ and ‘user’ countries. Although the protocol covers all terrestrial and marine life within national jurisdictions, international waters lie outside its reach. In March of 2018 the United Nations began working to address this loophole, and the liberal access regime to marine genetic resources is changing. Here we discuss the implications for bioprospecting efforts and the biotech industry in general going forward.

Marine life has adapted to thrive even in the ocean’s most inhospitable conditions, where extremes of pressure, temperature and absence of light have selected species with a unique range of secondary metabolites1. These natural products have attracted growing commercial interest from the biotech sector, supporting a rich marine biodiscovery pipeline2.

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  1. Stockholms Universitet, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm, Sweden

    Robert Blasiak

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  1. Robert Blasiak
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Correspondence to Robert Blasiak.

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Blasiak, R. International regulatory changes poised to reshape access to marine genes. Nat Biotechnol 37, 357–358 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-019-0087-1

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