Regulatory uncertainty and the associated business risk for emerging technologies

An oversight system specifically concerned with nanomaterials should be flexible enough to take into account the unique aspects of individual novel materials and the settings in which they might be used, while recognizing that heretofore unrecognized safety issues may require future modifications. T...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of nanoparticle research : an interdisciplinary forum for nanoscale science and technology 2011-04, Vol.13 (4), p.1513-1520
Main Author: Hoerr, Robert A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Characterization and Evaluation of Materials
Chemistry and Materials Science
Delay
Financing
Health
Inorganic Chemistry
Investment
Lasers
Materials Science
Nanomaterials
Nanoparticles
Nanostructure
Nanotechnology
Optical Devices
Optics
Photonics
Physical Chemistry
Risk
Special focus: Governance of nanobiotechnology
Uncertainty
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:An oversight system specifically concerned with nanomaterials should be flexible enough to take into account the unique aspects of individual novel materials and the settings in which they might be used, while recognizing that heretofore unrecognized safety issues may require future modifications. This article considers a question not explicitly considered by the project team: what is the risk that uncertainty over how regulatory oversight will be applied to nanomaterials will delay or block the development of this emerging technology, thereby depriving human health of potential and substantial benefits? An ambiguous regulatory environment could delay the availability of valuable new technology and therapeutics for human health by reducing access to investment capital. Venture capitalists list regulatory uncertainty as a major reason not to invest at all in certain areas. Uncertainty is far more difficult to evaluate than risk, which lends itself to quantitative models and can be factored into projections of return on possible investments. Loss of time has a large impact on investment return. An examination of regulatory case histories suggests that an increase in regulatory resting requirement, where the path is well-defined, is far less costly than a delay of a year or more in achieving product approval and market launch.
ISSN:1388-0764
1572-896X
DOI:10.1007/s11051-011-0260-z