Design of biomedical sensors and probes are limited by failure analysis tools that are unable to prediction product life, partially due to the absence of time-dependant materials property databases. “Design for reliability” lags “test for reliability,” thus less than optimal product designs reach the market. Regulatory agencies have identified several critical path design projects that could alleviate the situation. An argument is made that design standards are the province of Industry and an initiative for collaboration on pre-competitive material design data should be undertaken.