Algal biotechnology industries and research activities in China

In old China there were very few people engaged in the study of the algae, but in new China, freshwater and marine algae are studied by over one hundred old and new phycologists. There is now an algal biotechnology industry consisting of an aquaculture industry, producing large amounts of the seaweeds Laminaria, Porphyra, Undaria, Gracilaria, eucheumoids, and the microalgae Dunaliella and Spirulina. There is also a phycocolloid industry, producing algin, agar and carrageenan; an industry producing chemicals and drugs, such as iodine, mannitol, phycocyanin, beta -carotene, PSS (propylene glycol alginate sulfate) and FPS (fucose-containing sulfated polysaccharides) and an industry producing food, feed and fertilizer. The Laminaria cultivation industry produces about 900,000 t dry Laminaria, probably the largest producer in the world and 13,000 t algin, undoubtedly one of the largest algin producer in the world.

Towards definition of the global biotechnology value chain using cases from Australian biotechnology SMEs

The generic pharmaceutical value chain model has been employed to describe both the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries till now. This research investigates the organisational value chain in Australian biotechnology companies in order to assess the appropriateness of the pharmaceutical value chain to small-and medium-sized biotechnology companies. The main theme of the research is: Can a generic model of the organisational value chain be defined for the biotechnology industry? Emanating from the literature, two research propositions were developed. RP1: there are eight major definable elements/activities of the organisational value chain for the biotechnology industry. RP2: Coverage of the elements in the biotechnology value chain ranges from focused to broad. A multiple case study methodology was used to explore these propositions. To develop a number of case studies, data was collected from senior managers of small and medium Australian biotechnology companies using an interview instrument, as well as from publicly available documentation and through observation. The results were analysed using cross-case comparisons. The results showed that an aggregation of the value chains of each organisation can be reduced to these eight definable elements that constitute the biotechnology value chain: basic research, applied research, development, verification and validation, prototype development, clinical trials, manufacturing and marketing. However, the findings also indicate that these major elements of the value chain need to be further reduced into sub-activities or sub-tasks to cater for the unique differences between biotechnology companies. Generally, the findings were consistent with the literature. However, a wider sampling, including international biotechnology organisations should be studied. The major contribution of this research is in the development of a value chain model, including general sub-tasks, for the Australian biotechnology industry.

Just label it: Consumer rights, GM food labelling, and international trade

In the United States, there has been fierce debate over state, federal and international efforts to engage in genetically modified food labelling (GM food labelling). A grassroots coalition of consumers, environmentalists, organic farmers, and the food movement has pushed for law reform in respect of GM food labelling. The Just Label It campaign has encouraged United States consumers to send comments to the United States Food and Drug Administration to label genetically modified foods. This Chapter explores the various justifications made in respect of genetically modified food labelling. There has been a considerable effort to portray the issue of GM food labelling as one of consumer rights as part of ‘the right to know’. There has been a significant battle amongst farmers over GM food labelling – with organic farmers and biotechnology companies, fighting for precedence. There has also been a significant discussion about the use of GM food labelling as a form of environmental legislation. The prescriptions in GM food labelling regulations may serve to promote eco-labelling, and deter greenwashing. There has been a significant debate over whether GM food labelling may serve to regulate corporations – particularly from the food, agriculture, and biotechnology industries. There are significant issues about the interaction between intellectual property laws – particularly in respect of trade mark law and consumer protection – and regulatory proposals focused upon biotechnology. There has been a lack of international harmonization in respect of GM food labelling. As such, there has been a major use of comparative arguments about regulator models in respect of food labelling. There has also been a discussion about international law, particularly with the emergence of sweeping regional trade proposals, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. This Chapter considers the United States debates over genetically modified food labelling – at state, federal, and international levels. The battles often involved the use of citizen-initiated referenda. The policy conflicts have been policy-centric disputes – pitting organic farmers, consumers, and environmentalists against the food industry and biotechnology industry. Such battles have raised questions about consumer rights, public health, freedom of speech, and corporate rights. The disputes highlighted larger issues about lobbying, fund-raising, and political influence. The role of money in United States has been a prominent concern of Lawrence Lessig in his recent academic and policy work with the group, Rootstrikers. Part 1 considers the debate in California over Proposition 37. Part 2 explores other key state initiatives in respect of GM food labelling. Part 3 examines the Federal debate in the United States over GM food labelling. Part 4 explores whether regional trade agreements – such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – will impact upon

Comparison of extraction and transesterification methods on the determination of the fatty acid contents of three Brazilian seaweed species

Seaweeds are photosynthetic organisms important to their ecosystem and constitute a source of compounds with several different applications in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and biotechnology industries, such as triacylglycerols, which can be converted to fatty acid methyl esters that make up biodiesel, an alternative source of fuel applied in economic important areas. This study evaluates the fatty acid profiles and concentrations of three Brazilian seaweed species, Hypnea musciformis (Wulfen) J.V. Lamouroux (Rhodophya), Sargassum cymosum C. Agardh (Heterokontophyta), and Ulva lactuca L. (Chlorophyta), comparing three extraction methods (Bligh & Dyer - B&D; AOAC Official Methods - AOM; and extraction with methanol and ultrasound - EMU) and two transesterification methods (7% BF3 in methanol - BF3; and 5% HCl in methanol - HCl). The fatty acid contents of the three species of seaweeds were significantly different when extracted and transesterified by the different methods. Moreover, the best method for one species was not the same for the other species. The best extraction and transesterification methods for H. musciformis, S. cymosum and U. lactuca were, respectively, AOM-HCl, B&D-BF3 and B&D-BF3/B&D-HCl. These results point to a matrix effect and the method used for the analysis of the fatty acid content of different organisms should be selected carefully.

Bioactivity of extracts from extremophile microalgae Coccomyxa sp. on chloride cells in operculum tissue of Fundulus heteroclitus

Microalgae have been studied because of their great potential as a source of new compounds with important value for biotechnology and to understand their strategies of survival in extreme environments. The microalgae Coccomyxa sp., studied in this thesis, is a poly-extremophile witch was isolated from the acid mine drainage of S. Domingos mine. This environment is characterized by low pH (<3) and high concentration of metals, such as copper and iron. The main purpose of the present work was to evaluate the potential bioactivity in an ex-vivo animal model (Fundulus heteroclitus), and expression on selected genes, of cellular extracts obtained from cultures of Coccomyxa sp. at pH 7 without or with exposure to copper (0.6mM Cu²+). The extracts of Coccomyxa sp. cultured at pH 7 exposed to copper show a great potential to be used as epithelial NKCC inhibitors, revealing their potential use as diuretics, but did not show significant effects on gene expression. Coccomyxa sp. could be a good source of cellular extracts with a great potential to be used in pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

Wnt activation of immortalized brain endothelial cells as a tool for generating a standardized model of the blood brain barrier in vitro

Reproducing the characteristics and the functional responses of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in vitro represents an important task for the research community, and would be a critical biotechnological breakthrough. Pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries provide strong demand for inexpensive and easy-to-handle in vitro BBB models to screen novel drug candidates. Recently, it was shown that canonical Wnt signaling is responsible for the induction of the BBB properties in the neonatal brain microvasculature in vivo. In the present study, following on from earlier observations, we have developed a novel model of the BBB in vitro that may be suitable for large scale screening assays. This model is based on immortalized endothelial cell lines derived from murine and human brain, with no need for co-culture with astrocytes. To maintain the BBB endothelial cell properties, the cell lines are cultured in the presence of Wnt3a or drugs that stabilize β-catenin, or they are infected with a transcriptionally active form of β-catenin. Upon these treatments, the cell lines maintain expression of BBB-specific markers, which results in elevated transendothelial electrical resistance and reduced cell permeability. Importantly, these properties are retained for several passages in culture, and they can be reproduced and maintained in different laboratories over time. We conclude that the brain-derived endothelial cell lines that we have investigated gain their specialized characteristics upon activation of the canonical Wnt pathway. This model may be thus suitable to test the BBB permeability to chemicals or large molecular weight proteins, transmigration of inflammatory cells, treatments with cytokines, and genetic manipulation.

Social Responsibility in Developing New Biotechnology : Interpretations of Responsibility in the Governance of Finnish Biotechnology

The object of the dissertation is to analyse the concept of social responsibility in relation to research and development of new biotechnology. This is done by examining the relevant actors – researchers, administrators, decision-makers, experts, industry, and the public – involved in the Finnish governance of biotechnology through their roles and responsibilities. Existing practises of responsibility in biotechnology governance, as well as the discourses of responsibility – the actors’ conceptions of their own and others responsibilities – are analysed. Three types of responsibility that the actors have assumed are formulated, and the implications of these conceptions to the governance of new biotechnology are analysed. From these different types of responsibility adopted and used by the actors, theoretical models called responsibility chains are constructed. The notion of responsibility is under-theorised in sociology and this research is an attempt to create a mid-range theory of responsibility in the context of biotechnology governance. The research aims to increase understanding of the governance system from a holistic viewpoint by contributing to academic debates on science and technology policy, public understanding of science, commercialisation of research, and corporate social responsibility. With a thorough analysis of the concept of responsibility that is derived from empirical data, the research brings new perspectives into these debates by challenging many normative ideas embedded in discourses. For example, multiple roles of the public are analysed to highlight the problems of consumerism and citizen participation in practise, as well as in relation to different policy strategies. The research examines also the contradictory responsibilities faced by biotechnology researchers, who balance between academic autonomy, commercialisation of research, and reflecting social consequences of their work. Industries responsibilities are also examined from the viewpoint of biotechnology. The research methodology addresses the contradictions between empirical findings, theories of biotechnology governance, and policies in a novel way, as the study concentrates on several actors and investigates both the discourses and the practises of the actors. Thus, the qualitative method of analysis is a combination of discourse and content analysis. The empirical material is comprised of 29 personal interviews as well as documents by Finnish and multinational organizations on biotechnology governance.

The 'parallel bridge' and its relevance to biotechnology new ventures

A firm's competitive strategy and innovation processes are strongly influenced by, and must be responsive to, its competitive environment. This is nowhere more strongly evident than in the high technology industries. In the present work, case studies of biotechnology new ventures are presented. These studies illustrate how an initial market entry strategy of parallel competition (through creative imitation) has enabled several biotechnology start-ups to reduce their mortality risk. We coin the term ''parallel bridge'' to describe this strategy. The parallel bridge provides early cash flows which support research and development and provide time for new ventures to develop core competencies, including a capacity to produce second and third horizon products that will sustain longer term competitiveness.

The finance of biotechnology:investment in new biotechnology firms by British venture capitalists-attitudes to, and evaluation of, business proposals

A notable feature of the recent commercialisation of biotechnology has been the success of 200 or so new firms, established in America since 1976, in exploiting specialised market niches. A key factor in their formation has been the ready availability of venture capital funding. These firms have been instrumental in establishing America's lead in exploiting biotechnology. It is this example which Britain has attempted to emulate as part of its strategy for developing its own biotechnology capabilities. This thesis investigated some aspects of the relationship between biotechnology and venture capital, concentrating on the determinants of the venture capitalist's investment decision. Following an extensive literature survey, two hypothetical business proposals were used to find what venture capitalists themselves consider to be the key elements of this decision. It was found that venture capitalists invest in people, not products, and businesses, not industries. It was concluded that venture capital-backed small firms should, therefore, be seen as an adjunct to the development of biotechnology in Britain, rather than as a substitute for a co-ordinated, co-operative strategy involving Government, the financial institutions, industry and academia. This is chiefly because the small size of the UK's domestic market means that many potentially important innovations in biotechnology may continue to be lost, since the short term identification of market opportunities for biotechnology products will dictate that they are insupportable in Britain alone. In addition, the data analysis highlighted some interesting methodological issues concerning the investigation of investment decision making. These related especially to shortcomings in the use of scoresheets and questionnaires in research in this area. The conclusion here was that future research should concentrate on the reasons why an individual reaches an investment decision. It is argued that only in this way can the nature of the evaluation procedures employed by venture capitalists be properly understood.