New developments in biotechnology : U.S. investment in biotechnology.

United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.

Date:: 1988

Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: New developments in biotechnology : U.S. investment in biotechnology. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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Biotechnology can change the way we live. It has already provided, and promises to provide, greater quantities of products now in short sup- ply. Some products produced by biotechnology will be less expensive and safer to use than those now produced by other means. The potential of biotechnology to improve the Nation’s health, food supply, and the quality of the environment leads logically to questions about the adequacy of cur- rent funding levels. This report, the fourth in a series on new de- velopments in biotechnology, analyzes the current level of support for biotechnology by the Federal Government, by State and local governments, and by the private sector. The report is titled “U.S. In- vestment in Biotechnology;” investment indicates expectation that the expenditures will result in significant benefits to society. Investment is treated broadly in this report to encompass financial re- sources, human resources, and industrial policies. Any analysis, however, is confounded by wide vdriation in the definitions used by various sec- tors to describe biotechnology, and in the meth- ods used to account for that investment. As a consequence, figures on expenditures are approx- imate, and the scope of investment cannot be de- termined precisely. It is important to look beyond the numbers to the scale and diversity of efforts underway within the United States to support re- search in biotechnology and its various applica- tions. In this report, biotechnology is broadly defined to include any technique that uses liv- ing organisms (or parts of organisms) to make or modify products, to improve plants or ani- mals, or to develop micro-organisms for spe- cific use. This report focuses on “new biotech- nology” (e.g., recombinant DNA techniques, cell fusion, and novel bioprocessing tech- niques) rather than “old biotechnology” (e.g., use of micro-organisms for brewing and bak- ing or selective breeding in agriculture and animal husbandry). Several conclusions are apparent about the na- ture of U.S. investment in biotechnology. First, in some areas, the investment level is insufficient to meet the promise suggested by current work in the area. In particular, progress in such areas as agricultural biotechnology and biological approaches to waste disposal is hindered by inadequate investment by the public and pri- vate sectors. In both fields, technical barriers exist because of incomplete knowledge of basic processes involving plants, micro-organisms, and microbial ecology. Second, the regulatory process is often perceived to be a significant obstacle to com- mercial development of some biotechnology- related products. Whether the perceptions are due to ambiguity, unresponsiveness, extreme cau- tion, or outright bias, confusing regulatory mech- anisms are seen by industry officials as a major impediment to the acquisition of knowledge and an obstacle to the economic success of future prod- ucts. On the other hand, industry officials agree that reasonable and well designed regulations are necessary to ensure the public health and safety to the environment. Third, the rate of biotechnology commer- cialization and the factors affecting that rate vary among industrial sectors. Policy issues rel- evant to the application of biotechnology to hu- man therapeutics, for example, differ from those relevant to plant agriculture or chemicals. How Much Does the United States Spend on Biotechnology? Twelve Federal agencies and one cross agency program spent roughly $2.7 billion in fiscal year 1987 to support research and devel- opment in biotechnology-related areas (see table 1-1). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) con- tribute by far the largest share of that support, approximately $2.3 billion. Significant investment 3