Netherlands and Republic join forces on biobusiness

Where many in Britain reacted with a growing sense of hysteria over the use of genetically modified (GM) organisms, particularly in foods, their Dutch counterparts had just some "hesitation", according to Dr Rob van der Meer. The climate of recrimination in Britain which has impacted on biotech business there, contrasts with a more positive outlook in the Netherlands.

"Consumers are beginning to be enthusiastic again," said the director of RM Biobusiness Consultancy and former director of the Dutch biotechnology association NIABA.

Dr van der Meer was in Dublin to address a seminar held by BioResearch Ireland and to finalise a new Irish-Dutch initiative; the establishment of a master class in biobusiness beginning next month in April at the Institute of Technology attached to Smurfit Business School in UCD and at deBaak Management Centre in Noordwijk. The aim is to increase the number of biotech entrepreneurs in each country. (Supported by BRI and NIABA, it will target those who have completed formal education and have some experience in biotech).

The biotechnology business climate in his country has for some years been one of openness and transparency, he said - the Netherlands required that GM soya and GM maize from the US be labelled before any EU requirement to do so.

Outcry last year in Britain about research from Dr Arpad Pusztai claiming potential human health effects, provoked concerns among Dutch consumers. NGO campaigns were reignited. "In the first instance, it looked as if they were gaining ground. The Netherlands press did not really focus on the UK hysteria. There was a strong feeling that organisations like Greenpeace were repeating old arguments."

A record of 25 years of "biosafety control" reinforced by appropriate regulation by scientists, industry and governments, meant, he said, there was no major health problem; "where you could say this is out of control".

Established pharmaceutical, chemical, seed development and food industries, had quickly switched on to biotech possibilities. "The gut feeling is this technology is becoming more and more important for their competitive positions."

The second element is new biobusiness. About 60 companies employing 1,500 people have setup and are growing quickly with the benefit of government supports. Those specialising in health products are prominent, notably genomics (screening of gene pools to determine indicators of disease); biopharming and diagnostics. There was some shift away from agro-foods, but this health concentration, he suggested, was due to potential for higher "added value" and bigger returns. With foods it is the equivalent of improving an established product, in therapeutics it can be "a completely new solution"; something the world has been waiting for, such as a treatment for a disease.

The Netherlands has not gone through the kind of rationalisation seen in the US, or had the shock of a trailblazer company, such as British Biotech in the UK, going into decline - though new enthusiasm in America has sent share prices upwards and is putting a lot of money back into the biotech system.

The investment climate for novel developments in the Netherlands, as in the Republic, is positive though biotech has to compete with the obvious challenge coming from ICT and its inherent strength. Notwithstanding this, and ICT's potential for quicker returns, the life sciences were "really promising", he said. Moreover, there were indications from risk capital spending that investors were seeking a broader portfolio by going beyond ICT into life sciences.

The Irish biotech sector, with some 20 biobusiness start-ups, is equivalent to that of the Netherlands. Public expectation, he has concluded, is much the same; better than the UK he is an expert in biological solutions in waste water treatment and some of his developments are being used in industry. With a strong scientific base in the Republic, it would give depth to Irish innovation, he predicted. "But it is essential that Irish companies are open and transparent with the public in what they are doing; what they want to achieve and what they're developing."

Being small countries, both the Netherlands and the Republic had recognised the merits of international co-operation. This, he added, "puts them in a position to be more at the heart of biobusiness in Europe".