McKinsey & Company presented latest data and projections for adoption of industrial biotechnology within the biofuels and chemicals industries at the third annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing. It predicts that by 2010 industrial biotechnology will account for 10 per cent of sales within the chemicals industry, accounting for US$125 billion in value.

As of 2005, industrial biotechnology, counting products made from bio-based feedstock or through fermentation or enzymatic conversion, accounts for seven per cent of sales and US$77 billion in value within the chemicals sector. The spurt in projected growth industrial biotechnology is attributable to biofuels – ethanol and biodiesel – as the production is rapidly increasing to meet demand driven by government mandates. Other areas projected to grow rapidly include pharmaceutical ingredients, polymers and enzymes.

Source: www.biospectrumasia.com

China is set to launch a US$3.5 billion research project for genetically modified (GM) crops to help address the demand for food in the world’s most populous nation. Exact details of the initiative are yet to be worked out, but the State Council approved it in July, after Premier Mr. Wen Jiabao told senior scientists that the country needs “big science and technology measures” like GM to solve its food problem.

The new initiative will also include a public education initiative to try to ease public safety concerns over GM. Chinese scientists say that legitimate concerns over GM crops’ biosafety should not be used to mislead the public in the name of environmental protection. China has already widely planted insect-resistant GM cotton, which occupies 70 per cent of the area devoted to growing the crop in China. Chinese scientists have also successfully developed several types of GM rice, but the government has delayed commercialization of GM rice because of biosafety concerns.

Source: www.scidev.net

Australia’s first genetically modified bananas will be planted in Far North Queensland, following approval from the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator. Two trial crops will be planted near by the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) – one with nutrient-enhanced bananas and the other with disease-resistant Cavendish bananas. QUT Professor Dr. James Dale says the trials are the next step in the path to commercial production. “Bananas are extremely difficult to breed conventionally,” he says, adding, “This kind of technology offers the opportunity to improve bananas significantly.”

Source: www.agbios.com

Brazilian bioenergy research has received a boost with the launch of a new research programme promoting cooperation between academic institutions and industry. Bioenergy Research Programme (BIOEN), run by the State of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), is expected to gain US$130 million of investment over the next five years. The programme will receive an initial investment of US$46 million provided by FAPESP, the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, the State of Minas Gerais Research Foundation and Dedini, one of the private companies involved.

BIOEN will fund research on plant improvement and sugarcane farming, ethanol industrial technologies, bio-refinery technologies and alcohol chemistry, ethanol applications for motor vehicles, as well as research into the social, economic and environmental impacts of using and producing biofuels. Brazil currently produces 35 per cent of the world’s ethanol, and about 62 per cent of this is produced in São Paulo.

Besides academic activities, BIOEN will work with private companies in Brazil’s bioethanol industry to bring new technologies to industry sooner. It will also identify market needs and select scientific institutions to address them. Although FAPESP expects many of the projects to be on ethanol, the programme is open to funding research on other forms of bioenergy, such as biodiesel and biogas. They are also open to social research that investigates, for example, working conditions in the sugar cane industry and the impacts of mechanization of the harvest.

Source: www.scidev.net

Pakistan has established the Pakistan Biological Safety Association (PBSA), a national-level body to monitor biosafety measures in biotechnology and trans-border infectious diseases. PBSA was launched by the Higher Education Commission’s National Core Group in Life Sciences. It includes officials from the country’s R&D establishments, and will act as a watchdog to monitor observance of biosafety standard in laboratory work on microbes, pathogens and transgenic materials. It will also conduct awareness campaigns on biosafety issues.

PBSA will report any violations to the Biosafety Directorate of the Ministry of Environment, which had established a set of biosafety guidelines in 2005. PBSA’s first aim is to conduct a vaccine awareness campaign among farmers on avian influenza, as Pakistan has seen cases of H7 and H9 strains of bird flu in poultry. It also wants to introduce biosafety as part of the national curriculum at university level.

Source: www.scidev.net

Mr. Kapil Sibal, India’s Minister for Science and Technology and Ocean Development, indicated plans of building new institutions and strengthening some of the existing ones to world class standards in the area of biotechnology. Addressing a press conference at the foundation day function of Biotechnology Department, he outlined the proposals to make India a biotechnology power in future. These include establishment of a centre for translational research in health science at Faridabad in the northern state of Haryana. The centre will develop new vaccines, futuristic diagnostics and biological drugs, establish an incubator for development of products, and build capacity for running academic programmes.

The Minister said the Government is keen to set up a single Biotechnology Regulatory Authority for clearing biotech products. A committee has been constituted to work out modalities for the creation of the Authority and rationalization of the legislative and regulatory regime. There is also a proposal to award 25 special overseas fellowships for students doing research in stem cell technology and nano biotechnology.

Mr. Sibal informed that international collaboration programme has been reviewed and his Ministry would like to build strategic partnerships. A major programme for animal vaccines and immuno-stimulants for aquaculture has been firmed up with the Government of Norway. Another strategic collaborative agreement has been signed with Australia for collaboration in biotechnology. The Ministry has also entered into strategic partnership agreements with Denmark in agriculture and food biotechnology, with Finland in diagnostics and with United Kingdom in frontier biology.

Source: www.biospectrumasia.com

The adoption of genetically modified (GM) crops in South Africa has been progressing steadily over the last decade due to significant on-farm economic benefits. In 2007, approximately 57 per cent of the total maize acreage in South Africa was planted with GM maize. The farmers grew more than 1.8 million hectares of GM crops – including maize, soybeans and cotton – last year, almost 30 per cent more acres than in 2006. A recent study by Brookes & Barfoot estimates that South African farmers have increased their farm income by US$156 million in the period 1998-2006 by using GM crops. High cost of inputs such as pesticides is one reason the farmers are turning to GM crops, while irregular supply of pesticides and low yields of conventional crops are the other aspects.

Source: www.greenbio.checkbio tech.org