Biotechnology industry in China

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China has seen double-digit growth in its biotechnology industry and has gone from being one of the slowest to one of the fastest nations in the adoption of new biotechnologies. The biotech sector is seen in China and internationally as a core area of national scientific and economic development. The main national biotech body in the country is the China National Center for Biotechnology Development. [1] [2] The CNCBD is an organization established on November 3, 1983, under the Ministry of Science and Technology with the approval of the State Council. CNCBD is the sole national center to coordinate and implement the national S&T program in Biotechnology and Health.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Industry

Biotech industry in China started in 1984. By 1997, the number of Chinese biotech companies was about 200. In 2000 it was estimated that the number of Chinese biotech companies tripled to 600. In 2005 China's biotechnology industry increased to 900 modern biotech companies. China's biotech industry registered sales totaling US$2.4 billion in 2000, compared with US$31 million in 1986.

Development factors

China's biopharmaceutical industry is gradually expanding due to such favorable factors as China's rapid economic growth, people's higher income, and increasing understanding of and demand for biopharmaceutical. The biopharmaceutical industry has begun to play a more important role in the national economy, drawing more attention from investors - both private and public.

Healthcare

With the improvement of the healthcare system and people's rising awareness of disease treatment, more non-conservative treatment methods are used in clinical treatment, which has promoted the development of blood products. Currently, blood products frequently used in clinical treatment include over 20 types, belonging to such 3 sub-catalogues as human serum albumin, immunoglobulin and coagulation factors.

Vaccine

The demand of charged vaccine has increased dramatically with the rising consumption power and health awareness of people so that charged vaccine market is expanding rapidly. Charged vaccine as a supplement to free vaccine program has promoted the rapid growth of domestic vaccine market, the external diagnostic reagent is becoming familiar with people owing to people's deeper understanding of catalogues and curative effect of biological drugs. Nowadays genetic drugs and antibody drugs are replacing the chemical drugs which have many side effects to cure the cancer patients, and this will bring more opportunities for cancer patients to survive.

Import and export

The import and export volume of China's biopharmaceutical products was 377 million dollars in 2007, increased by 48% as compared with last year. The import volume reached 336 million dollars, increased by 51% as compared with 2006, and the export volume was 41 million dollars .

The growth rate of export volume in 2007 had declined from the level of 58% in 2006 to 26% in 2007. Although the export of China's biopharmaceutical industry constantly kept a high growth rate, the volume is very small compared with the import volume.

The export volume was only 41 million dollars in 2007 whereas the import volume added up to US$336 million. This sharp contrast indicated that China's biopharmaceutical products accounted for a very low market ratio in the international market.

Agricultural biotechnology

China's Minister of Agriculture Du Qinglin stated in July 2006 that science and technology should contribute up to 63% of the growth of Chinese agriculture sector by 2020. The minister outlined five areas that will be the focus of China in attempt to take advantage of biotechnology in agriculture, including GM cotton and rice, safe farm products, agricultural equipment, and research institutions.

Organizations

R&D

Ministries

Agencies

State programs

National Key Technologies R&D Program (NKTRDP)

Approved in 1982 and implemented for three Five-year Plans, the program includes three major issues: agriculture, new and high technologies and social development. The research on biological technologies is focused on agricultural breeding, gene medicine, marine biological products and the industrialization on key technologies.

National High Technology Research and Development Program (863 program)

The program was approved in March 1986 (because of that date it is simply called "863"). Its objective was to develop frontier high technology to narrow the gap between China and developed countries. The program lists biotechnology as one of seven targeted areas. '863' is China's biggest S&T development program. The budget for the 863 program has been raised from RMB 5.9 billion in the past 15 years to RMB 15 billion for the 10th 5-Year-Plan (2001–2005).

Torch Program

Established in 1988, the Torch Program aims to commercialize China's new and high technologies. The program encourages to invest in China's high technology zones.

Spark Program

Established in 1986, the Spark Program was the first program to promote the development of rural economy by relying on science and technology. One of the main contents of the program is the development of high yield, high quality and high effective agricultural products.

Science parks and incubators

Since the start of China's Torch Program in August 1988, 53 "National Science and Technology Industrial Parks" (STIPs) have been approved by the State Council (State-Level Hi-Tech and New Technology Zones). By 2000, there were altogether 20,796 enterprises in the STIPs.

Biotech initiatives

See also

Further reading

Journals

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biotechnology</span> Use of living systems and organisms to develop or make useful products

Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term biotechnology was first used by Károly Ereky in 1919, meaning the production of products from raw materials with the aid of living organisms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Taiwan</span> National economy of Taiwan

The economy of Taiwan is a highly developed market economy. It is the 8th largest in Asia and 18th-largest in the world by purchasing power parity, allowing Taiwan to be included in the advanced economies group by the International Monetary Fund. It is gauged in the high-income economies group by the World Bank. Taiwan is one of the most technologically advanced computer microchip makers in the world.

Pharming, a portmanteau of "farming" and "pharmaceutical", refers to the use of genetic engineering to insert genes that code for useful pharmaceuticals into host animals or plants that would otherwise not express those genes, thus creating a genetically modified organism (GMO). Pharming is also known as molecular farming, molecular pharming or biopharming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biocon</span> Indian multinational biopharmaceutical company

Biocon Limited is an Indian biopharmaceutical company based in Bangalore. It was founded by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw in 1978. The company manufactures generic active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that are sold in approximately 120 countries, including the United States and Europe. It also manufactures novel biologics as well as biosimilar insulins and antibodies, which are sold in India as branded formulations. Biocon's biosimilar products are also sold in both bulk and formulation forms in several emerging markets.

A biopharmaceutical, also known as a biological medical product, or biologic, is any pharmaceutical drug product manufactured in, extracted from, or semisynthesized from biological sources. Different from totally synthesized pharmaceuticals, they include vaccines, whole blood, blood components, allergenics, somatic cells, gene therapies, tissues, recombinant therapeutic protein, and living medicines used in cell therapy. Biologics can be composed of sugars, proteins, nucleic acids, or complex combinations of these substances, or may be living cells or tissues. They are isolated from living sources—human, animal, plant, fungal, or microbial. They can be used in both human and animal medicine.

The pharmaceutical industry is one of the leading industries in the People's Republic of China, covering synthetic chemicals and drugs, prepared Chinese medicines, medical devices, apparatus and instruments, hygiene materials, packing materials, and pharmaceutical machinery. China has the second-largest pharmaceutical market in the world as of 2017 which is worth US$110 billion. China accounts for 20% of the world's population but only a small fraction of the global drug market. China's changing health-care environment is designed to extend basic health insurance to a larger portion of the population and give individuals greater access to products and services. Following the period of change, the pharmaceutical industry is expected to continue its expansion.

The pharmaceutical industry in India was valued at an estimated US$42 billion in 2021. India is the world's largest provider of generic medicines by volume, with a 20% share of total global pharmaceutical exports. It is also the largest vaccine supplier in the world by volume, accounting for more than 50% of all vaccines manufactured in the world. With industry standards compliant mega production capabilities and large number of skilled domestic workforce, Indian exports meet the standards and requirements of highly regulated markets of USA, UK, European Union and Canada. According to the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, domestic pharmaceutical market turnover reached Rs 129,015 crore in 2018, growing 9.4 per cent year-on-year and exports revenue was US$17.28 billion in FY18 and US$19.14 billion in FY19.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fine chemical</span> Pure chemical substances produced by and for the chemical industry

In chemistry, fine chemicals are complex, single, pure chemical substances, produced in limited quantities in multipurpose plants by multistep batch chemical or biotechnological processes. They are described by exacting specifications, used for further processing within the chemical industry and sold for more than $10/kg. The class of fine chemicals is subdivided either on the basis of the added value, or the type of business transaction, namely standard or exclusive products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taiwan Miracle</span> Period of rapid economic growth in Taiwan, as one of the Four Asian Tigers

The Taiwan Miracle or Taiwan Economic Miracle refers to the rapid industrialization and economic growth of Taiwan during the latter half of the twentieth century. As it developed alongside Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong, Taiwan became known as one of the "Four Asian Tigers".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations</span>

The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) is a Brussels-based trade association and lobbying organisation, founded in 1978 and representing the research-based pharmaceutical industry operating in Europe. Through its membership of 37 national associations and 38 leading pharmaceutical companies, EFPIA represents 1,900 European companies in the areas of researching, developing and manufacturing new medical treatments.

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is an Indian government department, under the Ministry of Science and Technology responsible for administrating development and commercialisation in the field of modern biology and biotechnology in India. It was set up in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator</span> Business incubator n the United States

UF Innovate | Accelerate @ Sid Martin Biotech is located in Alachua, Florida, in Progress District. The program's mission is to foster the growth of bioscience startup companies that have some relationship to the university. The Incubator works with companies in all product areas relating to the life sciences, biomedical research, medicine, and chemical sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology</span>

The National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, also known as NIMBB, is a research institute of the University of the Philippines. It has four branches which are located in UP Diliman (NIMBB-Diliman), UP Los Baños (BIOTECH-UPLB), UP Manila and UP Visayas.

The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is an independent, nonprofit, international organization founded on the belief that the health of children in developing countries can be dramatically improved by the use of new and improved vaccines. Working in collaboration with the international scientific community, public health organizations, governments, and industry, IVI is involved in all areas of the vaccine spectrum – from new vaccine design in the laboratory to vaccine development and evaluation in the field to facilitating sustainable introduction of vaccines in countries where they are most needed.

SynBio is a long-term project started in 2011 with the goal of creating innovative medicines, including what are known as Biobetters. This project is a collaborative effort of several Russian and international pharmaceutical companies. The largest private participant of SynBio is the Human Stem Cells Institute (HSCI), a leading Russian biotech company, and Rusnano is a key investor. The project is a significant example of international cooperation between researchers in Russia, England, and Germany. Special project company SynBio LLC is headquartered in Moscow.

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Biotechnology in India is a sunrise sector within the Indian economy. Agencies of the Government of India concerned with the biotechnology industry include the Department of Biotechnology and the proposed Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India. As of 2022, the sector is valued at $80 billion. The Indian biotechnology sector is fast growing, and the sector is expected to be valued at $150 billion by 2025 and surpass $300 billion in value by 2030.

The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) is the largest advocacy association in the world representing the biotechnology industry.

Siam Bioscience Company, Ltd. is a Thai drug manufacturer, owned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

BIOTECanada, or the Industrial Biotechnology Association of Canada, is a Canadian biotechnology industry association based in Ottawa, Ontario. It is an industry-funded membership organization composed of over 250 national and international pharmaceutical and gene therapy companies, medical device manufacturers, agricultural science businesses, law firms, academic institutions, research and development networks, advertising agencies, insurance companies and financial services firms.

References

Citations

  1. "中国生物技术发展中心".
  2. China moves to reform biotech policies

Sources