Biotechnology in Russia: hope is not lost yet

FROM THE EDITORIAL OFFICERead with caution:
the meaning of this article in brief –
1) Everything will be fine, despite the killer figures given by the authors themselves;
2) To do this, you need to vote for United Russia;
3) And she may give us a lot of money.
Where she will get them is beyond the scope of this study... And the authors do not remember anything about the promise to double GDP by 2008, and about other election promises...
And about biotech, good words are written, correct, so we reprint the article as it is.

AND FEED, AND CUREVasilov Raif, President of the Society of Biotechnologists of Russia,

Oleg Morozov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Society of Biotechnologists of Russia
Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Federal Issue dated 25.01.2008

The next decade in Russia will be crucial for creating the foundations of an innovative economy. Either we will switch to "you" in the very near future with the latest technologies that define the face of the XXI century, or we will fall behind forever. In the face of fierce international competition, this is not just a question of the pace and quality of our economic growth. This is a question of Russia's survival as a great power. Either we will switch to "you" in the very near future with the latest technologies that define the face of the XXI century, or we will fall behind forever

And it is not by chance that we have focused our attention on the development of biotechnology in Russia. Firstly, each of us is directly related to this problem. Biotechnology is already successfully solving such vital tasks as providing food, creating effective medicines, obtaining fuel based on renewable raw materials, maintaining ecological balance, and preserving the Earth's bioresources. Russia cannot be a stranger at this celebration of science.

Secondly, in recent years, biotechnology has found itself in the shadow of its more successful neighbor – nanotechnology. Moreover, to call a spade a spade, it remained not only without political, but also without information support. We believe that this injustice should be eliminated.

Growth hormonesIn less than forty years, biotechnology has managed to go through three stages of a long journey.

The first one began in the 70s and 80s of the last century. This is the birth of revolutionary technologies based on the achievements of molecular biology (genetic engineering, cellular technologies). Thus, an opportunity was opened for the creation of new products useful for humans with specified properties. At this time, the world first got acquainted with genetically engineered human insulin, interferons, growth hormones, vital vaccines.

The second stage occurred in the 90s. It was a new wave of biotechnological progress: the creation of transgenic plants. In fact, a new industry has been formed – agrobiotechnology, which has made it possible to obtain harvests of such widespread food and industrial crops as soybeans, corn, rice, cotton on the necessary scale.

The third stage is underway now. It is associated with the introduction of so-called postgenomic technologies, that is, methods based on accurate knowledge of the genetic structure of living organisms. Now the object of targeted regulation, which has yet to be comprehended, may be metabolic biochemical processes.

What's next? What else will biotechnology please, and at the same time puzzle the human race in 10-15 years? Science does not yet know the answer to this question. One thing we can say: the possibilities of biotechnology are truly limitless.

We cannot but mention one more point here. The increasing use of the term "nanobiotechnology" does not mean that the relationship between these modern technologies resembles some kind of matryoshka structure. No, nanotechnology does not absorb biotechnology at all. In addition to the nanosphere, biotechnology works in other coordinates, deals not only with objects of a certain size, but primarily with processes, and therefore should be considered as an independent direction in the modern knowledge system.

Competitors are not asleepTo paraphrase Galich, I would like to write: and even in the field of the genome, we are...

Alas, the words in the new song do not add up in any way.

And it all started very well. In the 70s, we confidently took the start and kept the pace for a while, going on an equal footing with other countries. And then suddenly they got up: during the years of perestroika and especially liberal reforms, the authorities and business were not up to biotechnology. And here is the result.

Now the share of the Russian Federation in the global volume of biotechnological products does not exceed 0.2 percent (a quarter of a century ago – 5 percent). For comparison: the share of the USA is 42, the European Union - 22, China - 10, India - 2 percent. As a result, there is little left of the bioindustry, which was our pride until the early 90s: the country fell back from the 1-2 place in the world to the 70s.

Russia imports most types of vital biotechnological products. Every second university graduate – a specialist in molecular biology – goes abroad, and, as a rule, irrevocably. We missed the whole wave of the biotechnological revolution (green, related to agrobiotechnology), practically did not participate in the epochal achievement – the decoding of the human genome.

Even under the optimistic scenario, by 2010 Russia will produce only 0.25 percent of the global volume of biotechnological products. The reasons are obvious. This is clearly insufficient funding for scientific and practical developments in the field of biotechnology, and most importantly, the lack of a state strategy.

Meanwhile, other countries were not asleep. In the USA, federal laws have been adopted to stimulate business: on biomass (2000), on energy policy (2005). The country has made a decisive contribution to the decoding of the human genome, having invested over $ 1 billion in this project. More than $3 billion has been allocated to work with stem cells, another breakthrough area of biotechnology, in the state of California alone. The biopharmaceutical sector is booming, producing medical and veterinary drugs worth $ 25 billion a year. The USA is the absolute leader in the cultivation of genetically modified organisms in agriculture. The annual turnover is over $ 30 billion.

The European Union is also conducting a coordinated, well-thought-out strategy for the development of biotechnology. More than 30 billion euros were allocated for its implementation in 2000-2007. More than 50 billion more are planned for 2008-2013. A distinctive feature of the European approach to the development of biotechnology is a pronounced environmental orientation. By 2020, up to 20 percent of the chemical industry's capacity in the EU will be powered by bio-raw materials. And Sweden plans to completely abandon the use of petroleum products within 10-12 years, switching to biofuels.

In China, the annual growth rate of biotechnology is 16-18 percent. The income from its development in 2006 alone was $18.4 billion. Already, the country ranks fourth in the world in the field of plant genetic engineering. There are about 200 research centers and over 500 private companies operating here. Biotechnology at the state level is designated as a strategic priority for 15 years.

The world is experiencing a global biotech boom. Biotechnology is turning from an ordinary industry into a system-forming, leading factor in the development of the economy of individual states and the global economy as a whole. According to forecasts, by 2010, the global market value of biotechnology-related sectors (excluding agriculture) will be over 2 trillion euros.

Megaproject of the state and societyIf they succeeded, then we will succeed.

Today, Russia has all the opportunities not only to join the global biotech race, but also to rapidly advance in the main areas of breakthrough. However, a number of urgent steps need to be taken to realize these opportunities.

The development of biotechnology should be recognized as a priority of state policy with all the consequences that follow from this: adequate forms of organizational, financial and informational support both at the federal and regional levels, legislative support, stimulation of business and public-private partnership. In fact, we are talking about a national megaproject, in which all key structures of the state and society should be integrated. By its scale and mobilization nature, it can be equated with the nuclear and space programs of the recent past.

It is clear that such a task is beyond the capacity of individual ministries and departments or business groups. It can be solved only by the ruling party, which has powerful levers of legislative and executive power.

The All-Russian political party "United Russia" has been actively supporting the initiatives of the Ovchinnikov Society of Biotechnologists of Russia for the revival of domestic biotechnology for the past four years. We managed to do something. For example, the volume of budget allocations for biological science and applied work in the field of medicine and agriculture has been increased. However, now it is time for fundamentally different approaches: the development of biotechnology in the Russian Federation should become a party project. Moreover, the party has already accumulated serious experience in implementing such projects – "Thought Factory", "Ural Industrial – Ural Polar", "Transport Corridor", "Energy Security" and others.

We are lucky that we will not start from scratch. The party project "Development of Biotechnology in the Russian Federation" can be based on a long-term (until 2015) comprehensive program developed by the Society of Biotechnologists of Russia. It clearly outlines the tasks at the national level that should be addressed as a priority. Such tasks, selected through a thorough independent examination, included: bioenergy, the transfer of the chemical industry to renewable raw materials, the organization of mass production of socially significant biotechnological products, primarily food and medicines, the introduction of a system of bio-agriculture, the formation of national bioresource centers.

The program covers all areas of application of practical biotechnology: medicine, ecology, agriculture (agrobiotechnology and veterinary medicine), forestry and fisheries, food industry, various industries (chemical, mining, light). That is, those sectors of the national economy that significantly affect the development of the economy and the quality of life of the population.

(From the editorial office of the portal "Eternal Youth":
We remind you that it is the United Russians who protect our people from progress in the field of agrobiotechnology. On their initiative, a hysterical campaign against genetically modified plants has gained momentum in the country. As for the "plans of the party – plans of the people" and especially party science, we passed – in particular, in 1948. So "the opinion of the editorial board may not coincide with the opinion of the authors of the published articles.")

The most important component of the program is fundamental research. They are aimed at solving the problems of systems biology, bioinformatics, nanobiotechnology, and biosafety.

At the same time, the program is realistic and extremely specific. Thus, the production of food and feed protein is planned to increase to 1 million tons per year, which will solve the problem of protein deficiency of the population. The creation of modern enterprises for the production of glucose-fructose syrups will reduce sugar imports by 20 percent. Imports of the main groups of vital medicines will be replaced by at least 30 percent. In the field of bioenergy, the gradual displacement of hydrocarbon motor fuels by biofuels (biodiesel, bioethanol, biogas) will begin – by 2015 by 5 percent.

It should be particularly noted that biotechnology as an integral industry can become the basis for even more successful implementation of priority national projects. Indeed, the development of agriculture in modern conditions is unthinkable without agrobiotechnology. The same applies to the Health project: the production of domestic medicines that are not inferior to foreign analogues is the prerogative of medical biotechnology. Finally, the problem of quality housing should be solved in the context of ecological balance, which is practically impossible without bioremediation (purification of water, soil and atmosphere using the potential of biological objects), waste disposal, etc.

The authors, of course, are aware that the task of reviving domestic biotechnology on a new, modern basis is extremely difficult. Here, both the reproduction of one-to-one foreign experience and nostalgic memories of the capabilities of the command and administrative system are equally unacceptable. At the same time, in our opinion, we should not completely ignore the successful solutions that Academician Yuri Ovchinnikov managed to find and implement in the 70s and 80s of the last century. It was then that a new form of association of academic and industry institutes, universities and industries was actually born – the biocluster. As a result, in the shortest possible time, it was possible to lay the material and technical base of the bioindustry and to establish mass production of genetically engineered drugs for medicine and veterinary medicine.

What will the country have at the exit if the party project "Development of biotechnology in the Russian Federation" is launched? Let's take the liberty to outline the main characteristics of this qualitatively new situation, looking 10-15 years ahead. Firstly, it is a sharp weakening of dependence on imports of vital medicines.

Secondly, providing the population with high–quality food products of domestic production. Thirdly, a breakthrough in solving environmental problems. Fourth, the development of alternative energy sources and raw materials based on renewable biological resources. Fifthly, significant progress of the entire economy along the innovative path of development, creation of new jobs and the rise of economically depressed regions. And, finally, sixth, the creation of a reliable system to counter bioterrorism and ensure biosafety.

It is easy to imagine what we will be left with if biotechnology develops according to the second, unfavorable scenario (the position of non-interference). To do this, it is enough to preface all these basic characteristics with a particle of "not". However, despite the long-term nature of the project, the first tangible results can be obtained in the very near future.

About the dangers of mythsOf course, it is impossible to ignore the ethical problems that arise during the development of biotechnology.

We are talking about society's perception of truly revolutionary achievements in the field of genetic engineering, cellular technologies, cloning and others. There is a polarization of opinions from unrestrained optimism and reckless acceptance of all innovations to the indiscriminate denial of the very fact of scientific and technological progress.

What can I say about this? In our opinion, a law on bioethics is needed, which would prescribe the rules of the game in the biotechnological field quite rigidly. And then the parties will have to appeal to him, and not to some kind of expediency, which everyone is free to understand in their own way, or, on the contrary, to religious dogmas, also, we note, interpreted very ambiguously.

And, of course, an offensive fight against myth-making is necessary. To be honest, we now recall with pain and shame that, without exaggeration, the bacchanalia that unfolded in the press around vaccination in the late 80s and early 90s. With pain, because she, in fact, having stopped vaccinations, took away more than one child's life. With shame, because I didn't get a proper rebuff from doctors and biotechnologists.

There is an ancient saying: "Concordia parvae res crescunt, discordia maximae dilabuntur", which means – "agreement grows a small thing, disagreement destroys a big one." The constructive, creative environment that has developed in our state and society in recent years, favors the unification of the people around a promising patriotic idea, and hence the adoption of vital decisions. Such an idea can be the collection and use of all the best that our great predecessors have accumulated. Here is the cosmism of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Alexander Chizhevsky, Nikolai Fedorov (without comment – VM), and the doctrine of the noosphere by Vladimir Vernadsky, and the works of geneticists Nikolai Vavilov and Nikolai Koltsov ahead of their time, and outstanding achievements of Russian biologists of the late XX century. All this is concentrated in the theory, methodology and practice of biotechnology. Russia can and should regain the status of a great power by developing biotechnology as an integral scientific and practical direction.

Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru25.01.2008