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Bioscience for Life? Bioscience for Life? Who decides what research is done in health and agriculture? By Helen Wallace March 2010 GeneWatch UK 60 Lightwood Road, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 7BB Phone: 01298 24300 GeneWatch Email: [email protected] Website: www.genewatch.org UK Registered in England and Wales Company Number 3556885 GeneWatch UK 2 March 2010 Acknowledgements GeneWatch UK is grateful for funding from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust for this report. The author would also like to thank David Armstrong, Timothy Caulfield, Anthony Jackson, Les Levidow, Paul Oldham, Alan Petersen, Geoff Tansey and Vivianne Willis-Mazzichi for their helpful comments on a draft of this report, and Kristina Staley for her input to the background research on the research councils. The content of the final report remains the responsibility of GeneWatch UK. Declaration of interest GeneWatch UK has received two research grants as part of the European Commission's DG Research 'Science in Society' Programme, i.e. from one of the funders discussed in this report. Both projects: PSx2 (Participatory Science and Scientific Participation) and FAAN (Facilitating Alternative Agro-Food Networks) are cited in Part 6 of this report. GeneWatch UK March 2010 3 Contents Executive summary ..............................................................................................................7 Introduction ...........................................................................................................................7 1 . B i o s c i e n c e s a n d t h e K n o w l e d g e - b a s e d E c o n o m y 1 4 1.1 Background - the politics of food, health and science ....................................................14 1.2 Visions of the future........................................................................................................15 1.3 The knowledge-based economy.....................................................................................16 1.3.1 The knowledge-based economy in Britain.............................................................17 1.3.2 The knowledge-based economy in Europe ...........................................................20 1.4 Role of biotechnology and the biosciences ....................................................................21 1.4.1 The knowledge-based bioeconomy in Britain........................................................22 1.4.2 The knowledge-based bioeconomy in Europe ......................................................27 1.5 Summary of the knowledge-based economy .................................................................30 2. Incentives, Assessment and Entrapment in the Knowledge-based Economy 32 2.1 Measuring the knowledge-based economy....................................................................32 2.2 Patents ...........................................................................................................................34 2.2.1 Patents and universities ........................................................................................35 2.2.2 Expansion of the patent system ............................................................................37 2.2.3 Patents on life........................................................................................................37 2.2.4 GM plants and patenting .......................................................................................40 2.2.5 Patents, medical biotechnology and the human genome......................................41 2.3 Public investment in biotech research and development ...............................................43 2.4 Scientific publication and research assessment.............................................................45 2.4.1 Research Assessment: a changing role for peer review .......................................45 2.4.2 Publication and commercial interests ....................................................................46 2.5 Universities and industry-university collaboration...........................................................47 2.5.1 Knowledge, education and information .................................................................48 2.5.2 Knowledge-transfer and spin-out companies ........................................................49 2.5.3 Scientific careers, disciplines and conflicts-of-interest ..........................................52 2.5.4 Science, promises, the media and funding............................................................56 2.5.5 Role of science in decision-making and in regulation............................................60 2.6 Summary of incentives, assessment and entrapment in the KBE..................................65 3. Research Funders and Funding Processes.........................................................67 3.1 UK Research Funding ....................................................................................................67 3.1.1 Agricultural research..............................................................................................68 3.1.2 Health research .....................................................................................................71 3.2 The UK Research Councils ............................................................................................72 3.2.1 The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).............74 3.2.2 The Medical Research Council (MRC)..................................................................78 3.3 European Union research funding..................................................................................81 3.3.1 Early European Framework Programme support for biotechnology......................81 3.3.2 The Sixth Framework Programme (FP6)...............................................................81 3.3.3 Evaluation of FP5 and FP6 and development of FP7 ...........................................83 3.3.4 The Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) .........................................................84 3.3.5 European Technology Platforms, Joint Technology Initiatives and Research Infrastructures ......................................................................................86 3.4 Summary of research funders and funding processes...................................................90 GeneWatch UK 4 March 2010 4. People and Power – who influences Research Priorities?.................................91 4.1 Who influences research strategy in the biosciences in Britain?....................................91 4.2 Case study: UK Biobank and electronic medical records...............................................95 4.3 Summary of who influences research priorities..............................................................96 5. The Right Research Priorities?...............................................................................97 5.1 Good for health, hunger and sustainability? ...................................................................97 5.1.1 Health and medicine: the right research priorities? ...............................................98 5.1.2 Food and agriculture: the right research priorities?.............................................103 5.2 Good for the economy? ................................................................................................115 5.3 Good science?..............................................................................................................123 5.3.1 The genetic 'prediction and prevention' of disease?............................................124 5.3.2 A new generation of GM crops? ..........................................................................128 5.4 Winning support from the public?.................................................................................134 5.4.1 Public opinion and the Lisbon Strategy ...............................................................134 5.4.2 Science Horizons in the UK.................................................................................135 5.5 Summary of research priorities.....................................................................................136 6. How Could Things Change?................................................................................137 6.1 A new approach making decisions more accountable.................................................137 6.1.1 Alternative approaches to innovation ..................................................................138 6.1.2 Upstream engagement and participatory research .............................................142 7. Conclusions and Recommendations .................................................................146 GeneWatch UK March 2010 5 Index of Boxes and Tables Box A: UK science and technology policy timeline ..........................................................17 Box B: Bioscience policy timeline ....................................................................................22 Box C: The Competitiveness in Biotechnology Advisory Group (CBAG).........................29 Box D: Measures of the knowledge-based economy.......................................................33 Box E: The Roslin Institute, PPL Therapeutics and Dolly the sheep ...............................51 Box F: G-nostics and 'the smokers' gene' .......................................................................51 Box G: Genosense Diagnostics .......................................................................................52 Box H: Press stories about genetic susceptibility to lung cancer.....................................58
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