Opportunities in biotechnology

Abstract

Times Magazine has called this the Biotech Century. With good justification, because the sequencing of human genome holds out the promise of developing new and safer 'designer' drugs. We will briefly discuss some of the promising areas of biotechnology that may result in the development of new drugs especially in the field of cancer treatment. The process of developing a new drug however is risky and expensive. On average it takes pharmaceutical company 12-15 years and US$250m to develop a drug. Without the vision and resources to take such investment risks, inventions will never be commercialized for the benefit of patients. The Chinese have been great innovators and inventors in the past - the abacus, porcelain, printing, paper, gunpowder, and even the humble modern toothbrush, to name but a few inventions. However, they have not been as good with their commercialization. This is strange given their enterprising culture and ability to take risks. We will briefly discuss some of the reasons for this weakness. What is clear is that in a globalised K-economy, the Chinese will have to change their thinking and re-learn some old traditions in order to stay competitive.