Dr. Steven Wax, performing the duties of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology, recently concluded a visit to two of the Department of Defense’s nine Manufacturing Innovation Institutes. The visit included both the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute/BioFabUSA and Advanced Functional Fabrics of America.
MIIs were created to revitalize U.S. manufacturing capabilities through domestic public-private partnership designed to enhance competitiveness within the innovation ecosystem. Today there are 17 MIIs nationwide, nine operated by DOD.
BioFabUSA, located in Manchester, New Hampshire, brings together the manufacturing process for science of regenerative medicine to create regenerative manufacturing. It has more than 170 members including corporations, academia, and not-for-profit organizations.
“Dr. Wax is a trusted collaborator who I have had the opportunity to work with from his time at DARPA,” said Dean Kamen, Executive Director, and Chairman of the Board for BioFabUSA. “Thanks to his leadership along with others at the Department of Defense, America is building the biofabrication industry. This new industry will be responsible for manufacturing lifesaving, restorative therapies for injured warfighters and veterans, and will transform treatments for traumatic injuries and chronic illness for all Americans.”