Health Biotechnology- Paradigms of Success

With the growing interest in health biotechnology is no longer the preserve of institutions of high quality research from North America and Europe. The market cost effective and urgent need to address human suffering and disease are in developing countries to take stock of the situation and create alliances to be at the forefront of research in this sunrise sector. Vaccines for the prevention of many diseases and epidemics, diagnostic tools and other products of biotechnology which can be produced relatively easily and economically by developing countries have the potential to save millions of people dying each year disease.

The following factors are crucial for the development of the sector:

• Focus on the health of local needs

• Important role of the private sector in marketing.

• The collaboration between academia and industry and government and industry.

• Carving a niche.

• long-term support of the government and sustainable.

A worrying phenomenon observed in this area is that, because markets for drugs in industrialized countries are much more profitable, the development of health products for people in the poorest regions of the world is upset. Of 1,393 new drugs marketed between 1975 and 1999, only 16 were for tropical diseases in developing countries and predominantly affect others and three of the 16 were for tuberculosis, which affects the whole world. More than 175 new drugs have been developed for cardiovascular disease in the same period.

Developing countries should adopt measures to contribute to the creation of health products to meet their needs. This would require not only increased spending on the core and the efforts of applied research, but also greater cooperation and collaboration between industry and the private sector on the one hand and research institutes, universities and other public institutions. The government should also make a world of good through financial contributions and other tax incentives for the biotechnology industry. You have to understand that biotechnology in the health sector has a long gestation period and serious efforts over the long term and sustained efforts are needed to promote the development of the sector significantly.

We can learn from South Korea. Although a late starter in the field of biotechnology, compared to other developed countries or developing countries, the South Korean government has played an important leadership role and wrote with chalk on a plan to invest 4.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2000 in 2007. Equally important, government policies to encourage technology transfer and allow university professors to set up private firms or spin-off, which promotes entrepreneurship and a global set of skills.