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Introduction: promoting global health through biotechnology

Nature Biotechnology volume 22, pages DC3–DC7 (2004)Cite this article

The term 'health biotechnology' evokes images of research-intensive universities such as Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as well as initial public offerings on NASDAQ. Typically, we don't think about biotechnology in connection with health solutions for poor people in developing countries. Still, as has been demonstrated in a technology foresight exercise, biotechnology can potentially be applied to a wide spectrum of health problems all over the world1. Successful research and development in health biotechnology is taking place in several countries that typically are classified as lower income countries or developing countries. With a view to understanding these successes and reproducing them more widely in the developing world, we have undertaken a detailed study of health biotechnology development in seven countries.

This introduction addresses why it is important to study health biotechnology innovation systems in developing countries, who will probably be interested in the findings of the study, the conceptual framework of innovation systems used in the study, the study's methods, the outline of the subsequent papers and the expected outcomes. The crux of the issue is the case studies of seven countries that follow. In a final paper, at the end of the supplement, we highlight our main findings, draw comparisons between the country case studies and outline lessons learned.

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Figure 1
Figure 2: Exhibitors from developing countries at the BIO conferences.

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Acknowledgements

Publication of this supplement was supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Seattle, WA), Genome Canada (Ottawa, Canada), McLaughlin Centre for Molecular Medicine (Toronto, Canada) and the Rockefeller Foundation (New York, NY). Special thanks to Archana Bhatt, Zoe Costa-von Aesch and James Renihan for patent analysis, Éric Archambault, Frédéric Bertrand and Grégoire Côté at Science-Metrix (Montréal, Canada) for analysis of publication data and to George Gaskell, Calestous Juma, John Mugabe, Lynn K. Mytelka and Jacqueline Senker for their valuable input in planning this project. The CPGGH is primarily supported by Genome Canada through the Ontario Genomics Institute and by the Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund. Funding partners are listed at http://www.geneticsethics.net. D.K.M. is supported by an Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Career Scientist award. A.S.D. is supported by the McLaughlin Centre for Molecular Medicine, University of Toronto. P.A.S. is supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Distinguished Investigator award.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Assistant Professor at the Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health, University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics and Department of Public Health Sciences, 88 College Street, Toronto, M5G 1L4, Ontario, Canada

    Halla Thorsteinsdóttir & Uyen Quach

  2. Research Assistant at the Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health, University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics and Department of Public Health Sciences, 88 College Street, Toronto, M5G 1L4, Ontario, Canada

    Uyen Quach

  3. Assistant Professor, Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, and the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, 88 College Street, Toronto, M5G 1L4, Ontario, Canada

    Douglas K Martin

  4. Director of Ethics and Policy, McLaughlin Centre for Molecular Medicine,

    Abdallah S Daar

  5. Professor of Public Health Sciences and of Surgery, University of Toronto,

    Abdallah S Daar

  6. Co-director Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health, University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, 88 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1L4, Canada

    Abdallah S Daar

  7. Sun Life Financial Chair and Director, University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics,

    Peter A Singer

  8. Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto,

    Peter A Singer

  9. Co-director Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health, 88 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1L4, Canada

    Peter A Singer

Authors
  1. Halla Thorsteinsdóttir
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  2. Uyen Quach
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  3. Douglas K Martin
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  4. Abdallah S Daar
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  5. Peter A Singer
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Correspondence to Halla Thorsteinsdóttir.

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Thorsteinsdóttir, H., Quach, U., Martin, D. et al. Introduction: promoting global health through biotechnology. Nat Biotechnol 22 (Suppl 12), DC3–DC7 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1204supp-DC3

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