The Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron (ABIA) is collaborating with the US Food and Drug Administration to share its expertise in the use of biomaterials and polymers in medical devices. The goal of the partnership is to help the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) more effectively regulate the safety and performance of the materials when they're used in the manufacture of medical devices, according to a statement from the ABIA.  The FDA establishes these sorts of external partnerships to leverage the expertise of academic and research institutions to help the agency stay up-to-date with the latest scientific and medical advances.  The ABIA is also engaging with the federal government on the group's "value-driven engineering" initiative. (Med City News)