Biotech reform wanted

The biotechnology industry says the next Government must give the sector some urgent attention, with a focus on regulatory reform to make up for lost ground. “We face huge barriers in biotech, which is such a shame,” said BioTechNZ executive director Zahra Champion. “The rest of the world is moving in defining new technologies with updated regulations. But right now, here in New Zealand, it feels like we have two hands tied behind our backs.” She said it had been more than a decade since the sector was given serious attention by government. “Back in the early 2000s, biotech was seen as one of three sectors to lift New Zealand’s international competitiveness and a 10-year vision, the Biotechnology Taskforce, was implemented with bold recommendations,” Champion said. “But unfortunately, there was a lack of understanding of the investment and long lead times that biotech needed to thrive, and a significant number of people felt the sector overpromised and under-delivered.”

She said it could take 15 to 20 years for scientific breakthroughs to be deemed successful. “It's not all about focusing on bringing in new regulations, but making our current ones easier to use," she said. Among the changes would be easing limits on therapeutic applications, rules on medicinal cannabis and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). “We have developed some incredible innovations in the research and development space — especially in the [agritech] research sector — but because of our legislation we cannot use them in the commercial setting, so many of those trials have had to be done overseas,” Champion said. This year, the National Party said it would oversee a rethink of restrictions on genetic modification if it leads the next Government.