Sir

Your report on Chinese genomics ventures is interesting and informative (Nature 394, 601–602; 1998; see also Briefing in this issue, page 303). Although this is clearly an exciting time for such activities in China, one could argue that, at present, the proposed commercialization of genomics may do more harm than good.

A business cannot be built out of a vacuum. Some of the initial requirements are a sophisticated financial infrastructure to support high-risk investment, a pharmaceutical industry strong enough to support start-up companies and form critical alliances, and a social culture that can tolerate the ‘trial and error’ nature of such start-ups. Also needed are an effective legal system for protecting intellectual property, the ability to develop new technology, and an advanced science base capable of making the discoveries that are essential to success.

China does not meet these conditions. For example, the research and development budget of an average US pharmaceutical company is about 20 per cent of revenue. But in China, most companies do not spend any money on research, as the drugs they produce are ‘copies’ of drugs developed elsewhere. Furthermore, the 1993 Chinese patent law implies that genes cannot be patented, while in genomics research there are only a few complementary DNA sequencing programmes, and positional cloning, genomic mapping and sequencing have yet to start.

Hastily launching a genomics industry in this environment is premature. But the process has already begun. Genomics is being over-promoted by academics, with promises that will not be kept, and without the necessary substantial budgetary support from the government. In industry, some ventures have already been set up with little understanding of the marketing or financial factors involved.

It may take many years for a start-up to reach profitability, and the premature loss of backing may curtail an otherwise successful venture. The recent setback to genomics ventures backed by real-estate concerns in Shanghai and Beijing illustrate this. Such quasi-commercial ventures do not only damage the reputation of the scientists and research institutions involved, they also confuse policy makers and private citizens, evoking an old Chinese saying that if you go too fast, you may not reach your destination.

Genomics does, however, present a significant opportunity for China to advance its biotechnology research. And the Chinese research community has shown much maturity in recent conferences and meetings, acknowledging that it will take consistent and persistent efforts to reach its goals. Some of the problems mentioned here reflect a common growing pain for the Chinese Human Genome Project which is still in its infancy.

Chinese leaders in research, administration and business should heed the lessons of the financial crisis in Asia, namely that a copy-cat economy is unsustainable without committed research and development efforts and the protection of intellectual property. The best way to achieve success in the industrialization of genomics is through long-term, focused investment, and sustained efforts to build a strong, internationally competitive research programme. For this goal, China needs dedicated genome scientists more than scientists-turned-entrepreneurs.