Increasing Willingness and/or Ability of Governments to Sponsor Biotech Research.

Description:

Many governments are willing to support and sponsor fundamental research in biotech by massive funds, many have declared biotech a core issue in their economic strategy and many are trying to attract biotech companies to move production sites and research activities to the territory of their countries. A biotech company is almost always welcome.

Enablers:

• Biotech has been declared a core topic of the economic policy of many governments • Governments perceive biotech industry as one possible panacea to solve economic problems and to trigger economic growth • Lack of private venture capital in certain countries triggering calls for government sponsorship • Worldwide diseases • Desire to increase Standard of living by both, creation of high qualification jobs and availability of state of the art medicine • Few other alternatives for Research Sponsorship

Inhibitors:

• Budgetary limitations • Exploding healthcare costs • Priorities other than biotech • Other promising opportunities for investment and sponsorship

Paradigms:

• Perception of biotechnology as a core topic for the competitiveness of a nation

Experts:

• Ernst & Young, biotech Report

Timing:

• 2000 – 2005 Biotech strategies by several countries • 2001: Healthcare Spending by US Goverment passes 20% of governmental budget • 2001: Lisbon Agenda; Strategic vision of EU for Biotech in Europe • 11/2002: First People suffering from SARS identified in Province of Guangdong, China • 2005: 124 cases of bird flu reported, 63 persons death since 2003; 150 million animals killed for reasons of precaution

Web Resources:

• WHO