SA launches third biotech innovation centre
Cape Biotech, South Africa’s third government-funded Biotechnology Regional
Innovation Centre (BRIC) has been launched in the Western Cape, confirming the
country’s commitment to biotechnology.
Two other BRICs – EcoBIO and BIOPAD – are already operational. Although
the BRICs are regionally focused, they are not going to operate independently.
There is a process of facilitating collaboration across all BRICs to create a
national cohesiveness between all three centres.
Cape Biotech has been awarded R12.5m for 2002, R32 million for 2003, R39
million for 2004 and R52 million for 2005. The funding has been committed to
establish the Western Cape’s BRIC under the auspices of the SA National
Biotechnology Strategy. The funding across all three BRIC's is about R140
million per annum. As indicated in the SA country strategy document,
biotechnology is a cross-cutting technology with wide application, across
sectors and biological boundaries. The biotechnology industry is a
research-intensive industry spending between 40% and 50% of revenue on Research
and Development (R&D). This is much higher than the average research
intensity of about 5% of revenue on R&D, or even the pharmaceuticals
industry’s average research intensity of 13%.
The development and application of biotechnology requires a convergence of
skills from a variety of disciplines. It requires appropriate combinations of
biochemistry, genetics, information technology, engineering and several other
areas of expertise. It is truly a multi-disciplinary field and development in
this sector requires the establishment of links or partnerships between science,
engineering and technology institutions (SETIs) and private companies.
Biotechnology is thus a highly-networked endeavor. Cape Biotech has two major
functions: industry stimulation and capacity creation; and disseminating and
managing government funds by investment
in commercially promising projects.
Through a portfolio of projects which are regionally focused, the Cape
Biotech will act as a centre for the development of a range of businesses and
new product offerings, as well as have the capacity to support these. This will,
in turn, contribute to the development of world-class skills, economic
development and job creation in the region. With an interest in capacity
creation, portfolio and knowledge management, Cape Biotech is therefore a
cluster development initiative in addition to a funding body.
It is estimated that 60% of SA Biotechnology start-ups approaching venture
capitalists for funding originate in the Western Cape and the region has
well-developed expertise in medical, environmental, pharmaceutical, industrial
and agricultural biotech, as well as in bioinformatics and genomics. In addition
there is a rapidly developing business support network, including several
globally competitive biotechnology companies. The region is known for its rich
plant biodiversity which is a unique source of novel molecules.
The aim is to create as many commercially viable life sciences entities in
the Western Cape as possible. Cape Biotech has been through two proposal call
processes, which resulted in the short-listing of 16 projects. Approximately
three quarters of the short-listed projects relate to human health and the
balance to industrial bioprocessing. Plant biotechnology will not be funded by
Cape Biotech but PlantBIO, managed by Mark Laing's group in Durban, will service
this area nationally.
Cape Biotech also has a mandate from government to become operationally
self-sustaining and the objective is to use the funds in the most ‘value-effective’
manner for the recipient parties. The money allocated to Cape Biotech is not
intended to replicate grant-funding bodies but rather to stimulate a need to
commercialise through the conditions for funding. In addition, Cape Biotech aims
to define a regional branding and marketing strategy to develop global alliances
with other similar initiatives and potentially attract other donor investment. -
A Harvest
Article by A Harvest http://www.ahbfi.org/
|
