"What would the world look like if this [GM crops] battle were lost?...It would certainly be bad for the biotech industry and for Monsanto’s shareholders, otherwise here in the United States few would notice." - Annual Meeting of The National Governor's Association - Statement on Biotechnology, Rhode Island, 6 Aug, 2001 (Representing the Governors of US States)
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Brussels Urges Rapid Boost For Biotech Sector
Financial Times; September 4, 2001
Brussels-- Biotechnology must be given a rapid boost if the European Union is serious about becoming the world's most dynamic economy, the European Commission will warn today.
Amid growing evidence that European biotech companies are lagging behind their US competitors, the Commission will call for improved business conditions for the industry, and ask how ethical and safety concerns about biotechnology can best be addressed. "Life sciences and biotechnology are of strategic importance in Europe's quest to become a leading knowledge-based economy," the Commission says in a draft consultation paper due to be unveiled today. "Europe cannot afford to miss the opportunity that these new sciences and technologies offer."
The initiative comes at a tricky time for the biotech sector in Europe. Data suggest that the EU has a poor business environment for the development of high-risk ventures such as dedicated biotechnology companies. Meanwhile, public suspicion of some sections of the industry is increasing.
Concerns over the safety of genetically modified foods have led to a three-year moratorium on approvals of new GM crop varieties in the EU. Although the EU has 1,570 dedicated biotechnology companies - more than the US - these employ less than half as many people as their US counterparts. EU expenditure on biotech research and development of Euros 5bn (Pounds 3.1bn) is dwarfed by the Euros 11.4bn spent in the US. Public spending on biotech research is four times greater in the US.
The Commission cites factors including bankruptcy rules which preclude those affected from attempting new start-ups, regulatory uncertainty, fiscal barriers and lack of liquidity in the risk capital markets as main reasons why the industry continues to struggle in Europe. It asks how ethical concerns - such as the use and control of genetic information - can best be addressed, and wonders whether risk evaluations of new products should also include an assessment of their potential benefits.
In the agricultural sphere, it admits that consumers have perceived few benefits from the first wave of GM crops on the market: "Biotechnology research efforts could and should be used to develop new GM varieties to improve yields and enable cultivation by small-scale and poor farmers," it says. Warning that the EU risks being left behind if it adopts an unilateralist approach to biotechnology, the Commission concludes that the industry could come to play an even more important role than the IT sector does now.
"In the 21st century, biotechnology may become even more economically important (than information and communication technology)," it says.
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EU SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON NEW BIOTECH STRATEGY
September 4, 2001
Reuters [via AGNET]
BRUSSELS -- According to this story, the European Commission, saying a new coherent strategy towards biotechnology was needed to make Europe a world leader in the field, on Tuesday invited comments on the issue from the public.
The EU executive plans to unveil a wide-ranging policy initiative at the end of the year.
Commission President Romano Prodi was quoted as saying, "It is of strategic and long-term importance that Europe master the new frontier technologies, in particular the life sciences and biotechnology, and use them for the benefit of society," and that it needed an overall approach to a sector that affects health care, agriculture, the environment and energy production.
The story says that the public consultation will take the form of questions posted on the EU executive's web site, inviting comments from industry, consumer groups and individuals on issues ranging from genetically modified (GM) foods to stem cell research.
The Commission will also host a conference on September 27-28, bringing together interested parties.