In
This Issue:
GLOBAL
BIOTECH INDUSTRY REMAINS STRONG
Ernst
and Young, an international consultancy firm, has released its global
biotechnology report "Beyond Borders" noting that biotechnology companies
are ready to weather economic cycles and the industry is "well positioned
for future success". The study features benchmark global data, analysis
and industry expert commentary for the United States, Europe, Canada
and Asia Pacific.
The study
determined that the strong growth of the global biotech industry
in 2001 was stimulated partially by domestic and cross-border venture
capital (VC) financing. Donn Szaro, Global Health Sciences Director
for Ernst and Young believes that biotech companies everywhere must
develop business strategies to take advantage of global opportunities
since "science, talent and money are increasingly flowing freely
about the globe".
However,
in spite of the industry's relative strength in 2001, it continues
to face new challenges. Examples are current uncertainties in the
regulatory, reimbursement and public policy environment.
The report
further says that there are 622 public companies and 3,662 private
biotech companies. The public companies generated revenues of $35
billion, spent $16 billion in R&D and employed more than 188,000
people in 2001. It is also estimated that by 2005, the European biotech
market could reach more than $100 billion.
Ernst
and Young is a global organization that helps companies capture growth,
improve financial performance and manage risk. For more information,
visit http://www.ey.com/global/
Content.nsf/US/Media_-_Release_-_06-10-02DC
SINGAPORE
IS ASIA'S TOP BIOTECH INVESTOR
Asia Private Equity Review reports that Singapore is Asia's leading investor
in the biotechnology sector primarily due to government funding. The report,
which focuses on biotech investments in Asia since 2000, says that among the
five Asian countries that have moved into the sector - Japan, India, Korea,
Singapore and Taiwan - "Singapore is by far the most aggressive in providing
a ready pool of capital for immediate deployment in biotechnology companies."
The Singapore
government has so far channeled more than US$700 million into biotech
funds. This includes S$1 billion (US$568 million) in the Biomedical
Sciences Investment Fund and US$120 million in other initiatives
including the Bio Innovation Fund, the Pharm Bio Growth Fund and
Life Sciences Investments.
Apart
from funds channeled towards investments, Singapore's National Science
and Technology Board has allocated S$1.5 billion for R&D in the
biotech sector. Some S$2 billion has been set aside to attract leading
research organizations in Singapore to invest in local and foreign
biotech start-ups.
In contrast, Taiwan has concentrated on providing funds to venture capital
firms. Last September, the government earmarked NT$30 billion (S$1.6 billion)
to invest in venture funds over the next five years.
India's central government and the government of Karnataka state have created
funds totaling US$24 million for investment in biotech ventures, while Korea
last year established a 1 billion won (S$1.5 million) fund called the MAF Muhan
Agro Bio Venture Fund No 1.
Japanese investments in the biotech sector are private-sector led and have
a capital pool of US$357 million dedicated to biotech investments.
For more information, go to http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,2276,49961,00,html
EU
COMMENTS ON GM LABELING AND TRACEABILITY PROPOSALS
David Byrne, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, presented
during the GM Food and Feed Plenary Session at the European Parliament at Strasbourg
the following amendments to two proposed regulations on genetically modified
(GM) food and feed, and GM labeling and traceability:
- The
scope of the proposal has been expanded to include processing aids
and animal products fed on GM feeds; and restricts the proposal
to products derived from GMOs which contain transgenic DNA or protein.
- Labeling
requirements will be expanded to require the mandatory labeling
of food, food ingredients and feed produced from a GMO, even when
transgenic DNA or protein is not present that is, not detectable
in the food, feed or in the ingredient.
- The
proposal allows for GMOs and GM material which have been "pre-authorized" in
terms of a complete positive risk assessment from an EU Scientific
Committee, to be present in a food or feed up to a maximum of one
per cent. This is of course provided that the GM presence is adventitious
or technically unavoidable.
- A
maximum labeling threshold for adventitious presence of authorized
GM material should be established at 0.5%.
Bryne's
speech is available at: http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?
p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=SPEECH/02/314|0|RAPID&lg=EN&display
Meanwhile,
Simon Barber, director of the plant biotechnology unit of EuropaBio,
an association of bioindustries, notes that "the arbitrary reduction
to a 0.5% threshold instead of 1% as proposed by the Commission is
unrealistic. Cross pollination in the farming environment and some
mixing in the storage, distribution and processing stages will be
inevitable, so these low levels are impossible to achieve." He also
noted that Parliament failed to recognize that "adventitiously present
trace elements of GM products assessed as safe by European Scientific
Committees, and approved and commercialized in third countries, might
be adventitiously present in seed and commodity in the EU. Because
of the de facto moratorium, the approval process in the EU has stopped."
Barber
added that the ability of biotechnology to contribute to the goal
of Europe becoming the world's most competitive knowledge-based economy "is
now in question". More of his views at http://www.europabio.org
TANGIBLE
BENEFITS TO ADOPTING GE CROPS
A study by Jorge Fernandez-Cornejo and William McBride used data from the US
Department of Agriculture data to examine the extent to which farmers have
adopted GM crops. The report entitled "Adoption of Bioengineered Crops" was
released last May. It also examined the factors affecting the adoption of these
crops and the impacts of bioengineered crops on input use and farm-level net
returns.
The authors
made the following analyses:
- GE
crops have been adopted rapidly since they were introduced in 1996.
This is particularly true with herbicide-tolerant soybeans and
cotton which reached 68 and 56 percent of their respective acreage
in 2001.
- The
economic impact of GE crops varies by crop and type of technology.
Adoption of herbicide-tolerant cotton and herbicide-tolerant corn
had a positive economic impact on farms. However herbicide-tolerant
soybeans did not have a significant impact on farm financial performance.
- The
use of herbicide tolerant soybeans was quite profitable for some
farms but the profitability depended specifically on the types
of weed pressures faced on the farm.
- Adoption
of Bt cotton had a positive economic impact on farms but
Bt corn had a negative impact. Bt corn may have been used
on some acreage where the value of protection against the European
corn-borer was less than the Bt seed premium.
- The
adoption of GE crops has been associated with a small but statistically
significant reduction in aggregate pesticide use.
The authors
caution that the data should be interpreted carefully, as in all
studies, since the impact studies are based on only two years of
survey data. All in all, the writers conclude that there are tangible
benefits to adopting first generation GE crops.
The study
can be downloaded at www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aer810/
EFFECT
OF GM CORN HYBRIDS ON FUNGI
The protection against European corn borer offered by Bt hybrids translates
into a consistently reduced risk for Fusarium ear rot and fumonisins
in grain, and a somewhat reduced risk for stalk rots. This was the conclusion
made by Gary Munkvold, a plant pathologist of the Iowa State University (ISU).
He examined the role of transgenic hybrids in the management of European corn
borers, corn earworms, Fusarium and Aspergillus ear rots
and stalk rots.
Munkvold
says previous experiments showed dramatic differences in Fusarium
ear rot between Bt and non-Bt corn. "In this two-year
experiment, the differences were smaller but they still appeared," he
says. "Results show Bt hybrids have a lower risk for Fusarium and
fumonisins than their non-Bt counterparts".
Susan
Thompson of the ISU College of Agriculture reports that last November,
the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released guidelines for
safe levels of fumonisins in foods and feeds. This action was taken
because of the widespread occurrence of fumonisins in corn and the
evidence of their toxicity. The FDA concluded fumonisins may present
human health risks.
The research
project also showed stalk rot incidence and severity was lower in
some Bt hybrids, but the reductions were not consistent year-to-year. "The
background genetics of hybrids influence their stalk rot vulnerability
more than the presence of a Bt gene", Munkvold added.
To obtain
a copy of this report, e-mail leocenter@iastate.edu
NEW
FOOD STANDARDS AUTHORITY FOR AUSTRALIA AND NZ
The new Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), which replaces the Australian
New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA), has been launched in Canberra, Australia
on 1 July by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Federal Minister for Health
and Ageing, Trish Worth. The FSANZ will deal with food biotechnology issues.
The main
function of the Authority will be to develop food standards that
are to be adopted in Australia and New Zealand and then notify those
standards to the new Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial
Council.
FSANZ
will also develop standards for Australia relating to primary production
and processing. This means that for the first time Australia will
have an organization setting standards for the whole food chain.
FSANZ will continue to emphasize the protection of consumer rights
and ANZFA's process of public consultation, which allows public health,
consumer and industry groups to have input into standard setting.
The new
chair of FSANZ is the Hon. Rob Knowles who was a member of the ANZFA
board.
Email info@foodstandards.gov.au for
more information.
KENYA
PREPARING BIOTECH POLICY
Kenya's Daily Nation reports that the state government is formulating a policy
on biotechnology and biosafety. The effort is being spearheaded by the National
Council for Science and Technology (NCST).
Trade
and Industry Minister Nicholas Biwott was quoted as saying that the
policy would be used to monitor and evaluate research programs aimed
at developing high yielding plant varieties. Biotechnology research
and development in Kenya is currently operated under a set of guidelines
issued by the National Biosafety Committee (NBC) of the NCST. (BIC-Kenya
release)
BIOTECH
RESEARCHES FROM CHINA
The China Agricultural University, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
and CAB International are cooperating to make Chinese biotechnology research
reach the rest of the world. China is one of the countries where agricultural
biotechnology is booming.
Through
the efforts of these organizations, a sample of papers from China's
Jourrnal of Agricultural Biotechnology (a quarterly, peer reviewed
journal) are now available online. Some of the current abstracts
available are:
Construction
of plant expression vectors and wheat genetic transformation with
barley yellow dwarf virus single and double coat protein genes by
Jia Li, Wu Maosen, Zhang Wenwei, Xiao Hong, and Cheng Zuomin;
Transfer
of a lysine-rich gene into maize inbred lines and the detection of
transgenic plants by Sun Xuehui, Ao Guangming, Yu Jingjuan, and Zhao
Qian; and
Commercial
implementation of intellectual property rights of Chinese transgenic
insect-resistant cotton with Bt gene and Bt+CpTI
genes by Fang Xuanjun, Cheng Daxin, Xu Jun, Xu Rongqi, and Fan Tianshu.
These
can be downloaded at http://www.agbiotechnet.com/Questionnaire/chinese.asp. Agbiotechnet
encourages readers to fill in a questionnaire after viewing the abstracts.
ANNOUNCEMENT
The 7th International Symposium on the Biosafety of Genetically Modified Organisms
will be held in Beijing, China, October 10-16, 2002. It is organized by the
Peking University, Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, and the International
Society for Biosafety Research. For more information, contact Prof. Hongya
Gu, College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China or email
him at biosafe@pku.edu.cn |
