New ISO Management Standards for the Biotech Industry

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has, for a long time, offered certification in Quality Management Systems and Environmental Management. These two management standards, and the benefits or reasons for getting ISO certified, are generally well known. However, there are some newer, lesser known standards modeled after these two that might be of interest to some Biotech firms interested in ISO certification.

In particular, there are new ISO management standards that might be relevant to Biotech companies involved in areas of food technology and medical devices. ISO 22000 Food Safety Management Systems covers the entire food supply chain including crop and feed producers, food production processes, and producers of pesticides, veterinary drugs and fertilizers. Producers of medical devices might consider ISO 13485. Also of interest to many biotech companies might be ISO/IEC 27001:2005 and ISO/IEC 17799:2005, for information technology and information security management, as management of IT is an important part of protecting your IP.