Investments in technology will bear fruit - US Ambassador

Excerpts of the speech made by US Ambassador Robert Blake at the inauguration of the international workshop on 'Molecular Biology, Histopathology and Stem Cell Research in Neurosciences' at the University of Sri Jayawardenepura.

Biotechnology, if used appropriately, has the potential to provide more and healthier foods, reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and offer effective cures for diseases. Enzymes that can break down plant material into biofuels such as ethanol will lead to the cost-effective production of sustainable bioenergy products. This could be of interest in a country such as Sri Lanka that spends $2 billion a year to import oil and gas to meet its energy needs. A new bioengineered form of rice bolstered with vitamin A may help reduce blindness stemming from vitamin deficiency in developing countries.

Governments and other organizations have to help their countries realize the benefits of biotechnology. They need to establish an overall policy and regulatory framework that will encourage investment in biotech research and development tailored products that can help developing countries and assist these nations in building the capacity to benefit from bio-innovation.

Healthier and more nutritious foods are also being developed via biotechnology. For example, more than 100 million people are affected by vitamin A deficiency, which is responsible for hundreds of thousands of cases of blindness annually. Researchers have engineered a variety of rice to supply the metabolic precursor to vitamin A.

Stem cells and cloning have gained prominence in national and international politics. They have replaced or repaired damaged tissue in animal models, and they hold great promise for treating human diseases such as Alzheimer's and diabetes.

A fundamental application of biotechnology to medicine is in drug discovery. Humans have discovered drugs from natural sources. Genomics and its companion field for proteins-proteomics-have allowed us to discover drugs more systematically. The automation of biochemical binding assays in small chips called microarrays enables scientists to screen thousands of chemical compounds for their effectiveness against disease-causing proteins in a short time. This high-throughput screening, as it is called, would not have been possible without investment in basic biotechnology research.

Biotechnology also plays an important role in preventing disease. Vaccines produced by recombinant DNA methods are generally safer than traditional vaccines because they contain isolated viral or bacterial proteins, as opposed to killed or weakened disease-causing agents. However, many citizens in developing nations do not have access to any vaccines, let alone ones derived from biotechnology. Currently, most vaccines require cold storage and professional administration through injection.

Therefore, researchers are working on genetically engineered plants to deliver vaccines through food. The cost of plant-derived, orally administered hepatitis B vaccine is estimated to be one-sixth that of current hepatitis B vaccines. Enough antigen to immunize all babies in the world each year could be grown on approximately 80 hectares of land. However, as with Bt crops, there are general concerns about pharmaceutical crops because they may cross-pollinate with food crops in the field. It will be especially important to develop biosafety regimes that either use crops that do not cross-pollinate (for example, male sterile) or isolate the pharmaceutical crops (for example, in greenhouses).

Challenges

It is striking that a number of the above examples relate to the Millennium Declaration, an agreement reached in 2000 by more than 170 countries to address poverty, economic development, and environmental preservation. Science and technology are seldom integrated with international programs focused on social and economic development. There has been significant progress in meeting some of the goals of the Millennium Declaration, such as reducing poverty, increasing primary education and gender equality, and lowering child mortality. However, less progress has been made in fighting global disease and improving environmental sustainability.

Investments in science and technology by any nation will eventually bear economic fruit. However, investments to address the social, political, cultural, and ethical issues surrounding applications of biotechnology are equally important. There are good ways to foster open dialogue on such issues. We may never agree on some applications of biotechnology, such as therapeutic cloning, but dialogue leads to better understanding of each other's views and respect for our differences. We should not minimize the potential health and environmental risks of biotechnology. We need to fund studies of these effects by independent organizations. Regulatory systems should be streamlined to be effective, efficient, and transparent. Currently, there are few incentives for the independent study of regulatory systems and policy.

We need to invest in technologies that are tailored toward helping developing countries and building capacity in their communities, for example, through education, training, and assistance with intellectual property issues. Biotechnology investments have primarily been made in developed countries and on products that will offer financial returns.

The Indian example

This focus is natural for the private sector, but a broader agenda is needed. Governments and other organizations should step in and invest in research and development in developing countries and in products that can benefit those countries. Through increased awareness of the social context of biotechnology and commitments to resolve existing issues, one can envision a future in which biotechnology is harnessed responsibly to help all nations and all people. The booming Indian biotechnology sector can provide an example for Sri Lanka to emulate. Having spent the last three years as Deputy US Ambassador in India, I can personally testify to the benefits India derived from biotechnology. India's first step was to create a Department of Biotechnology within the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The Biotechnology Department then developed a National Science and Technology Policy and Development Strategy.

As a result of these steps, India's biotechnology industry comprises over 280 companies with six of them generating over US$ 22.7 million. Total biotechnology revenues in 2005-06 were approximately US$ 1.5 billion with an impressive growth rate of 36.5%. Biotech exports from India stood at US$ 750 million.

Sri Lanka has the potential to develop its own biotechnology industry, albeit on a smaller scale than India or the United States. From my experience in India and elsewhere, I suggest the most effective way for Sri Lanka to proceed would be to form a panel of eminent scientists and businesses to prepare recommendations for the government about the elements of an overall biotechnology policy and regulatory framework that will encourage investment in biotech research and development. The United States stands ready to advise and assist you to the extent our resources permit.