Financial Times

Sri Lankan industry urged to use biotechnology
Biotechnology in the industry is slowly grabbing the attention of Sri Lankan industrialists. At a recent panel discussion on this issue, one of the calls made was the need for the private sector to get involved in biotechnology to ensure that the country doesn’t fail to reap the huge benefits that are available from its untapped biodiversity.

Other factors discussed at a the panel discussion on “Biotechnology for Industry Development in Sri Lanka” held at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, were the present state of the private sector’s involvement, to identify and develop the technology’s resource base, to state the shortfalls and forecast the human resources needed, and to forecast capital requirements to launch the necessary projects.

For those not in the know, biotechnology can be defined as a collection of technologies that capitalise on the attributes of cells, such as their manufacturing capabilities, and their biological molecules, such as DNA and proteins, to work for us. Biotechnology helps improve one’s ability to customise therapies based on individual genomics; prevent, diagnose, and treat all types of diseases rather than rely on rescue therapy; as well as provide breakthroughs in agricultural production and food safety.

Part of the need for such investment and interest can be put down to a noteworthy feature that Sri Lanka's biodiversity has a remarkable high proportion of endemic species among its flora and fauna: 23 percent of the flowering plants and 16 percent of its mammals, the audience was told.
To help the situation at home, the Thai-based Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) was asked to come on board due to its 20-year experience in the field, according to Prof B. R. R. N. Mendis, Chairman of the University Grants Commission. He said one of the most important things that needed to happen was an increase in the number of students studying the relevant post-degree subjects, such as microbiology, biomaterial science and engineering, aquaculture and aquatic resources management, among others.

Prof M. B. B. Marambe, Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, said that the financial savings in agriculture would be huge if there was a serious intent to push biotechnology, backing this up by talking about huge reductions in the need for pesticides, herbicides, as well as the cost of spraying.

Of course there are always positive and negative sides when pushing such moves in a particular field (albeit a field that covers a lot of scope), and they can be classified by SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities, threats). For Sri Lanka they fall into the following categories, according to AIT Prof Sudip Rankshit.

He said there was a need to create a strong cadre of scientists, working in all areas of the biotech sector, using all available tools to bring the country forward.

After a gruelling flight from Cuba, Dr. Tissa Vitharana, Minister of Science and Technology, said that Sri Lanka had a lot to learn from the country he had just visited. He said that after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Cuba’s GDP fell 35 points, so something had to be done. One of the decisions made was to make a push as far as biotechnology was concerned, and in a relatively short time a number of companies have done extremely well, with one, he said, earning over $100 million in profit. Other success stories have contributed significantly to the national economy there.

Such steps can and should be taken in Sri Lanka, the minister said, adding that with the abundant biodiversity, serious efforts should be made to explore the potentials. Dr Vitharana said that there wasn’t enough exploration into the financial potential of natural medicines; no push for organic/natural foods, where people in Western countries are willing to pay “four, five or even 10” times the price of similar products to ensure a healthier diet.

The minister was encouraged by the rising number of students studying courses related to the topic, but worried about the lack of jobs available. “Industry should work seriously with the science departments to ensure that Sri Lanka has the jobs to put Sri Lanka on the map as far as biotechnology is concerned.”

There will be support from the government, where biotechnology should be part of the National Science Foundation, he said. “Industry should set up a biotech centre to promote the possibilities this science can bring,” he continued.

On Cuba, he said “Starting from nothing, if the people work together, it is amazing what can happen in a relatively short time,” leaving no-one at the seminar with any chance of missing his point.

Prof Eric Karunanayake, Director, Institute of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Colombo, said industry should not just pump money into biotechnology per se, but look seriously at the base, the core of the science. He said before any real inroads can be turned into profit, the human resources side must be developed first, where business can help students on post-graduate courses. He added that people trained up to the PhD level should be brought together to conduct research and development in Post-Genomic Molecular Life Science groups.

Prof Karunanayake said the potential for this science went beyond improved crop harvests, healthier livestock and better rubber production, say, as the medicinal factors are huge and untapped in the country. He said the priorities should be the rich biological diversity: the plants, animals and microbes that are all great sources for future drugs; then there is the untapped territorial waters — a gold mine in waiting. The application of molecular techniques in forensic science and archaeology was another area, as was the detection of post-harvest pathogens, he added.

The professor summed up by asking for more courses, such as degree programmes in molecular science and fulltime Science Masters Degrees, as well as the government and the private sectors making moves to encourage such moves by offering grants and scholarships.

As the idea of venture capitalism is still relatively new in the country and with the Chamber not able to get an expert in the field to attend, it was left to Prof B. F. A. Basnayake, Director, Agriculture Biotechnology Centre, University of Peradeniya, to fill in, but not necessarily about venture capitalism.

He talked about some of the areas that needed to be looked at seriously before handing over a blank cheque to keen researchers. One was research and development costs, where it was important for financers to set guidelines to ensure costs don’t spiral out of control; another was the “80/20% rule”, which states that roughly 80 percent of the problem can be solved with 20 percent of the effort that it would take to solve the whole problem — thus saving money.

Getting International Property Rights on board, the professor said, was also important, as was putting forward a workable time factor as the people behind the money like to see what they have invested in. Territorial rights should be legally worked out to ensure that all parties know exactly what they’re going to get when the work is done and (hopefully) successful, Prof. Basnayake said, concluding that compared to Western countries, cost factors were much more affordable in Sri Lanka. And there it was, a well-put-together seminar by the Ceylon Camber of Commerce, where only one invitee failed to show up.

As biotechnology is still a topic that doesn’t spill off too many people’s tongues, it will be interesting to see how those businesses and industrialists that attended approach the matter.

But as we were continually reminded during the seminar, it is something that must be looked into and something that will help with the future prosperity of the country, both academically and financially. If the private sector gets fully involved then there are vast untapped areas where biotechnology can bring forth benefits, not just to Sri Lanka, but to the rest of the world as well.
There was a word or three of warning from Mr Athula Perera, Professor of Biotechnology, University of Peradeniya, who was part of the minister’s entourage to Cuba.

“Cuba started with nothing but put in everything to make it (biotechnology) happen; here in Sri Lanka we have everything but are still doing nothing.” Let us hope the seminar leads to a positive reaction from all involved so Mr Perera’s words don’t come back and haunt us.

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