By Jia Hepeng (China Daily)

Source:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/05/content_491552.htm

TIANJIN: People suffering from various infectious and genetic diseases may
benefit from plans to support biotech medicine.

In the next five years, the State will focus on developing new low-cost
biotech medicines and vaccines, among other biotechnology initiatives,
said Qi Chengyuan, director of the High and New Technology Department
under the National Development and Reform Committee (NDRC).

The central government will also concentrate on schemes to screen people
for genes that might cause diseases.

China's biotech investment is said to be the largest in a developing country.

Qi made his remarks on Friday at the opening of the three-day Fourth China
Tianjin Economic Development Area (TEDA) Bioforum. Investment will look at
such things as genetically modified seeds, biotechnology-based
manufacturing, bio-energy and biotech-based environmental protection, said
Qi. All will be part of the 11th Five-Year Programme (2006-10).

Drafts of the plan, which has been worked on by the NDRC, the Ministry of
Science and Technology (MOST), the Ministry of Health and other government
departments, will be finished early next year, according to MOST sources.

During the current 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-05), the central government
quadrupled its investment in life sciences and biotech sectors to 13
billion yuan (US$1.6 billion), from the previous five-year period. That's
according to statistics from the National Biotech Development Centre.

The huge investment and the vast number of talented people in China means
the nation is among the world's top countries in biotechnological terms.
It is doing a lot of work in areas such as proteomics (the branch of
molecular biology concerned with the behaviour and interaction of proteins
within cells), stem cell research, genetically modified seeds and gene
therapy.

Zhang Jing'an, secretary general of the Ministry of Science and
Technology, said total investment in the field could reach 50 billion yuan
(US$6.2 billion) in the 11th Five-Year Programme period.