 |
| About Bioline | All Journals | Testimonials | Membership | News |
|
||||||
|
||||||
Australasian Biotechnology, Biotechnology in The Netherlands J.J. Beun, J.L. den Hollander, P.L.A. Overbeeke, J. Schalk, Kluyver Institute for Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 67, 2628 BC Delft, The Netherlands Code Number:AU98025 Because of the visit of a delegation of the Kluyver Institute for Biotechnology to Australia in July 1998, an overview of Biotechnology in The Netherlands is given. Biotechnological activities at universities, research institutes and in industries are highlighted and an indication is given of the opinion of the Dutch public concerning acceptability of biotechnological products. Introduction In The Netherlands the following definition of biotechnology is generally accepted: Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogs for products and services (European Federation of Biotechnology, 1989). This means that biotechnology has a multidisciplinary character, in which disciplines like molecular biology, genetic engineering, enzymology, microbiology, physiology, environmental technology, bioreactor design and downstream processing are involved. Since the early 1980s, the Dutch government has stimulated the development and application of biotechnology through a number of activities, resulting in an infrastructure favorable for biotechnological operations. Companies always seek an environment that safeguards continuity and certainty, and that is best found where there is political, social and financial stability and an adequate and continuous supply of skilled labour. In a 1994 survey of the World Economic Forum, The Netherlands scored highest of surrounding European countries with respect to political, financial and economic stability. Due to the Dutch educational system the availability of well-trained people is also high, which results in flexibility and high productivity. Overall, the Dutch government has stimulated the field of biotechnology with more than Dfl. 400 million (1 Dfl. = 0.67 A$) between 1981 and 1993. The government is now concentrating its policy on a further strengthening of the base of knowledge on industrially relevant themes, increasing investments in industrial R&D and improved dissemination of existing knowledge, and improved integration of biotechnology in society. Besides, export opportunities are supported by means of activities of the Dutch Foreign Trade Agency (EVD), a division of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. A geographical distribution of Dutch biotechnological products in 1993 is given in Figure 1 1. Total export value amounts to Dfl. 4.2 billion. Almost 90 percent of the Dutch biotechnology companies have one or more permanent bases abroad. In addition, many foreign companies have located their European biotechnological activities in The Netherlands. Figure 1. Geographical distribution of Dutch biotechnological products in 1993. Biotechnological Education and Research Eight Dutch universities offer biotechnology-oriented programs and extensive training in the disciplines supporting biotechnology, such as biology/chemistry, chemical engineering technology, pharmacy, medicine, veterinary science and food technology. Five biotechnology graduate schools (Centers of Excellence) offer advanced, second-phase biotechnology curricula for post-doctorate and PhD students which aim to meet industrial needs and are based on the latest scientific knowledge. An example is the educational program of the graduate school Biotechnology Sciences Delft Leiden (BSDL), which offers a two-year postgraduate course for those who wish to tailor their own specialisation to the needs of multidisciplinary biotechnological research. The other biotechnology graduate schools are EPS (Experimental Plant Sciences - Wageningen), VLAG (Food Technology, Agrobiotechnology, Nutrition & Health Sciences - Wageningen), GBB (Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute) and BCA (BioCenter Amsterdam). Annually they each train approximately 100 PhD students and 40 post-graduates. The five graduate schools have an association in ABON, the Association of Biotechnology Centers in The Netherlands. ABON aims to improve academic collaboration in biotechnological research and postdoctoral education with special attention to industrial relevance. The Dutch educational system furthermore provides a rich training ground for highly skilled staff in the biotechnology sector. Students can sign up for biotechnology courses at 22 centres for higher vocational training. Such courses focus specifically on biotechnology or are part of the regular curricula in industrial technology, environmental technology, medical technology, agricultural technology, bioprocess technology and plant and animal production. Some important research institutes in The Netherlands are the Dutch Institute for Dairy Research (NIZO) and the Dutch Organisation for Applied Research (TNO). Research at the NIZO is related to the processing of milk and other food products. TNO focuses on the application of biotechnology in the agro-food industry, the environment and health sectors and the pharmaceutical industry. Biotechnology in Industry In the early 1980s, the number of companies with biotechnological activities numbered fewer than 10. Now there are approximately 290. Of these, 35 are New Biotechnology Firms (NBFs), which predominantly operate in the fields of diagnostics and therapeutics, plant biotechnology and environmental biotechnology. Together, established companies and NBFs cover all major biotechnological application areas, as shown in Figure 2 1. The interests of the industry as well as of a number of trade organizations with biotechnological activities are represented by NIABA, the Dutch Industrial and Agricultural Biotechnology Association, established in 1988. NIABA's membership includes the majority of Dutch biotechnology companies. They represent five groups: 1) Industrial enterprises 2) Agricultural companies 3) New biotechnology firms 4) Trade organizations and 5) Suppliers of processes or equipment. NIABA's activities are not confined to The Netherlands but also extend to the level of the European Community. Alone, or in concertation with sister organisations abroad, NIABA focuses mainly on five topics. These topics in biotechnology are: 1) Communication and information 2) Regulation and legislation 3) Industrial/intellectual property 4) Public awareness and 5) Research and education. Figure 2. Distribution of application areas of Dutch companies with biotechnological activities NIABA is an active member of EuropaBio, the umbrella organisation of the European bio-industry established in 1996 and representing more than 700 companies and 10 national biotechnology associations. Key companies in The Netherlands are Gist-Brocades (fermentation processes), Unilever Research Laboratory (development of enzymes and secondary metabolites), Solvay Duphar (pharmaceutical products), Zeneca Mogen (development of crops with improved characteristics through genetic engineering), DSM (fine chemicals) and AKZO NOBEL (pharmaceutical products). Industry and Universities: the (shrinking) gap The total number of industrial and academic scientists involved in biotechnology in the Netherlands is estimated to be 3,500. Almost 290 companies in the Netherlands conduct biotech research, involving around 2,000 people. These numbers are expected to increase by 25 percent over next few years, particularly in the field of food, agriculture, pharmaceutical applications and the environment. In their research, companies cooperate extensively with universities and research institutes. One of the advanced areas of research in the Netherlands is that of environmental biotechnology. Dutch universities have gathered a large amount of research data on various types of bacteria which can break down pollutants. This knowledge has been successfully developed by one or two environmental companies into reliable high-performance waste water treatment systems, biological air filters and soil clean-up methods. One of these companies is Paques, which has become a leading company in both anaerobic and aerobic waste water treatment worldwide. Further research in environmental technology is currently focusing on the recovery of primary raw materials, in situ treatment methods and process improvements leading to a decrease in by-products, pollutants and waste. In closing the gap between industry and university, ABON plays a role by coordinating the execution of a strategic, industrially relevant research program. For this, ABON receives Dfl. 17 million from various Ministries for the period 1994-1999. This program is carried out principally by the participating graduate schools, where the financial investments of the government is matched in terms of manpower. The industrial research themes are selected by NIABA. ABON and NIABA also started MIBITON, a foundation aimed at improving the material infrastructure of biotechnology groups within universities and research centers in order to stimulate structural cooperation with industries. MIBITON is financially supported by a Dfl. 20 million grant from the government. The Dutch biotechnology researchers participate actively in the life science subsectors of the European Commission's R&D Framework programme. They are frequently sought as coordinators for transnational multidisciplinary cooperation projects, which describes the majority of projects encouraged in these sectors. Industrial biotechnology researchers from Dutch companies are usually among the most active and constructive participants in the European industrial platforms. The Dutch academic community actively participates in international research programs. Between 1989 and 1993, Dutch research groups received 11% of the total budget available for biotechnological research projects funded by the European Union, which is relatively a significant part of the money available taking into account that the Dutch population is only 4% of the total of EU-countries. Public Acceptance Surveys have shown that the Dutch public accepts modern biotechnological products that are perceived to bring benefits to human health or the environment. But the public is neutral or negative when it concerns products that do not clearly show a benefit, which raise ethical questions or involve modifications of certain organisms (e.g. cattle). Consequently, the use of dialogue is an important step towards improved public acceptance of products made with modern biotechnology. The Netherlands is the only country in Europe where companies, retailers and consumer and environmental organizations hold informal discussions about the need for exchange of information on and labeling of foods and food ingredients made with modern biotechnology. The outcome of this dialogue is an agreement on early information exchange among all parties involved as well as a set of guidelines describing which products should be labeled to provide meaningful information to the consumer. These kind of dialogues contribute substantially to mutual understanding of positions and problems and are expected to further improve the trust of groups in society that are critical of modern biotechnological products. One of the major results of the informal dialogues has been an agreement on the labelling of biotechnology novel foods, long before the European directive on novel foods has come into effect. The recent introduction of labelled food products on the Dutch market has not led to any consumer protests or radical drops in the sales of these products. Some non governmental organisations, however, remain strongly opposed. To compare The Netherlands with the United Kingdom and with the average of the 15 European Table 1: Moral acceptability of 6 types of biotechnology products (1996)
Union Member States, an overview is given in Table 1 of the moral acceptability of the application of 6 types of biotechnology products 4. These 6 types of products concern 1) Food (production of foods), 2) Plants (make them more resistant to insecticides), 3) Medicines (development of medicines and vaccines), 4) Research (development genetically modified animals for laboratory studies), 5) Transplants (production of organs for human transplants) and 6) Detection (development of genetic tests to detect diseases).With `positive' is meant that this percentage of the people accepts the application, with `don't know' is meant that this percentage does not have a meaning about whether the research may be applied or not. Sources 1. Biotechnology in The Netherlands. Ready for the market. A publication of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, The Netherlands, 1995. 2. Biotechnology on the way to 2000. A (future) perspective for the Dutch Industry (in dutch). A publication of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, The Netherlands, 1996. 3. Degenaars G., Van der Meer R. Biotechnology in The Netherlands. The European Biotechnology Directory '98. 4. The Europeans and modern biotechnology. Eurobarometer 46.1. A publication of the European Commission, Luxembourg, 1997. Copyright 1998 Australian Biotechnology Association Ltd. The following images related to this document are available:Line drawing images[au98025b.gif] [au98025a.gif] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||
