BIOTECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL TRENDS AND …

1 1 BIOTECHNOLOGYINTERNATIONALTRENDS AND PERSPECTIVESBYALAN T. BULLGEOFFREY HOLTMALCOLM D. LILLYORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT2 The Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development (OECD) was set up under aConvention signed in Paris on 14th December 1960, which provides that the OECD shall promote policiesdesigned: to achieve the highest sustainable growth and employment and a rising standard of living inMember countries, while maintaining financial stability, and thus to contribute to thedevelopment of the world economy.

2 To contribute to sound economic expansion in Member as well as non member countries in theprocess of economic development; and to contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral, non discriminatory basis inaccordance with INTERNATIONAL Member countries of the OECD are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland,France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg,the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey.

3 The UnitedKingdom and the United opinions expressed and arguments employed in this publication are the responsibility of theauthors and do not necessarily represent those of the en fran ais sous le titre:BIOTECHNOLOGIETENDANCES ET PERSPECTIVESINTERNATIONALES OECD 19823 One of the important tasks of the OECD Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy is tofollow the emergence of major fields of technology, to debate the various policy issues arising from it, andto help solve those which fall within its , I am pleased that this report to OECD on BIOTECHNOLOGY is being made available to the publicat large.

4 This work is but the beginning of a more continuous interest of the Committee in a technologythat is likely to modify the lives of most people in the OECD Member countries and beyond, throughimpacts on health, nutrition, energy and the factors come together in my view to explain the interest which this report has generatedin the Committee. First, it is an up to date, comprehensive review of prospects in an area of science andtechnology of major interest to Member countries. A second factor is the conviction of the authors of thereport that the successful development of BIOTECHNOLOGY depends upon conditions and directions which theCommittee has attempted to foster in other sectors of the research system and in other areas of sciencepolicy.

5 They are: the need for increased emphasis on inter and multi disciplinary research, the closeinteraction between fundamental research, applied research and engineering and the corresponding needfor balanced support of all components of the R&D spectrum, the importance of assessing futureopportunities in science and technology and their societal impacts, and the need for integration of science,economic and other policies (such as education and regulation policies).A third feature of this report is its timeliness.

6 Several OECD countries have launchedbiotechnology plans or policies during the last few years, and they have now to concern themselvesincreasingly with the INTERNATIONAL implications of their projects. Other countries are in the process ofdrafting their first , the Committee has agreed to undertake further work on BIOTECHNOLOGY . This work willfocus on four issues: Patent Protection in BIOTECHNOLOGY , which among others, will enable individualOECD countries to compare their legal situation to that of others.

7 Safety and Regulations, which will investigate among other aspects, the problems that mightarise in industrial mass production. Government Policies and Priorities in BIOTECHNOLOGY R&D, which will compare past andpresent R&D priorities related to BIOTECHNOLOGY , and review the national debates andmechanisms that have helped to set these priorities. Economic Impacts of BIOTECHNOLOGY , an important project that might begin when the otherprojects are nearing can only express my hope that the next steps in the Committee s work on BIOTECHNOLOGY will meetwith as much interest and success as this first Dr.

8 Van TrierChairman of the Committee forScientific and Technological Policy4 TABLE OF CONTENTSFORWARD by Prof. Daniel Thomas, Technological University of 7 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 10 LIST OF EXPERTS .. 14 AUTHORS of Importance of BIOTECHNOLOGY and the Need for Comparative Statistics inOECD Member Activities and Future Impacts of Organizations involved in BIOTECHNOLOGY and the Needs of 20 Chapter IPOTENTIAL OF CONTRIBUTING SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGIES and for .. Manipulations .. Fusion .. 26a)Animals.

9 26b)Plants and Microorganisms .. vitro Recombinant DNA .. Operation .. 31a)Fermenters .. 31b)Immobilized Biocatalyst and Process Control .. 335 Chapter IISCIENTIFIC, TECHNOLOGICAL AND RESOURCE CONSTRAINTS and Chemical Feedstocks .. Sources .. 35a)Renewable Raw Materials .. 35b)Constraints on the Use of Conventional 37c)Energy Balance and Photosynthetic Efficiency .. and the Location of , Development and Demonstration .. Peculiar to Developing Trouble with Supply of Vector Expression .. Secretion, Export of Gene Products and Downstream.

10 Of Strains, Cell Cultures, Vectors and DNA Use of 48 Chapter IIIIMPORTANT ISSUES AFFECTING DEVELOPMENTS IN Research and Development and and the Relationship of Academe with Business .. Regulations ..55IN CONCLUSION .. 57 AppendicesISome Recent Definitions of 59 IIStatistics for Biotechnologically-Related 61 III A BIOTECHNOLOGY : According to Industrial 63 III B BIOTECHNOLOGY : Based on Volume and 64 III C BIOTECHNOLOGY : Based on Technological 65 IVMarket Predictions for Implementation in Production of Genetic EngineeringProcedures.