b'INTERNATIONAL BIOFILM STANDARDS TASK GROUPDriven by industry needs, in February 2020, NBIC, along with the USA Center for Biofilm Engineering, the Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE), and an EU Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) action group, formed an International Biofilms Standards Task Group (IBSTG). Its mission is to drive the international development and acceptance of standardised biofilm test methods in healthcare, the built environment and industrial systems and enable informed and consistent decision making on the international regulation of anti-biofilm products. ACHIEVEMENTS AND PROGRESS TO DATEIn June 2020, NBIC joined the BSI CH/216 Chemical Disinfectants and Antiseptics Committee to lobby for development of standards for assessment of these agents in the presence of biofilms.In December 2020, NBIC secured funding from the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to progress the development and characterisation of standardised biofilms with a view to developing a joint platform methodology with SCELSE in Singapore. In September 2021, the IBSTG led a session at the International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation Symposium (IBBS) on Closing the gap: the role of regulatory standards in biofilm research & industry innovation. In February 2022, NBIC and SCELSE participated in the UK-Singapore Strategic Dialogue in Science and Innovation, where they urged for a joint and collaborative programme on biofilm standardisation.In March 2022, a working group CH/216/3 Biofilms and Products was established, under the BSI CH/216 Committee and chaired by NBIC, which set out to explore new areas of biofilm standardisation.In April 2022, NBIC in partnership with the USA Centre for Biofilm Engineering (CBE), organised a workshop on Biofilm Regulations and Standardisation in the medical device and pharma sectors.FUTURE PLANS The IBSTG is conducting a global biofilm methods and standards review covering various regions and industry sectors, with several publications in preparation with the aim of setting up a central database of all current methodologies and standards that exist in each sector and the terms they use for biofilms e.g., slime, and the microbiome. Such a review will provide a basis for gap analysis and identify the standards which are most needed by the community.28'