China: Next Biotech Boom?

Filed in archive Corporate and Industrial News on October 6, 2005

It definitely won't come as a surprise if China becomes the next to reap the impact of the biotech boom. Professor Wang Hongguang, director general of the China National Center for Biotechnology Development claims that "China already boasts more than 20 biotech parks dotted around the country and 500 biotech enterprises", most of which are focused on medicine and agriculture. So far, there are only few successful homegrown biotech ventures, but China is intent in attracting Western biotech and pharma companies in setting up base in China, the main atraction being the low costs of labour, animal pre-clinical and human clinical trials. Wang approximates the cost of biomedical research in china to be just 20% of that in western countries.

Now if only China can deal with the issue of the countries reputation for weak patent protection, coupled with ample state R&D funding, there won't be anything stopping the boom for Chinese biotech.

Click here to read report from Reuters.