BIOTECHNOLOGY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES


nology related to health care. The emphasis of the developing countries in
health care delivery is increasingly shifted towards the preventive and
community aspects. This requires development of vaccines, diagnostics,
and drugs which can be administered on a large scale at low cost. Many
health problems of developing world, e.g., tropical infectious diseases, are
not shared by the developed world, and the R&D need to be done at least
in part in the endemic areas. No matter which specific areas in agricul-
ture, health or industry the developing countries choose to put major em-
phasis on, the R&D activity should have a high quality by international
standards. This requires continuous interaction with the international bio-
technology communities.


TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

 Since the bulk of biotechnology is presently done in developed countries,
technology transfer is a major aspect of concern for strengthening of bio-
technology capabilities in the developing countries at the commercial level
and in general. Developing countries, especially those which are industri-
alizing, import substantial amounts of technology, biotechnology in-
cluded, under contract. The contractual agreements are often restrictive
with respect to technology transfer and diffusion. The restrictions, under-
standable from the commercial point of view, pose a problem for endoge-
nous development of biotechnology: the local technology cannot compete
with the imported, yet inaccessible, technology. However, technology
transfer is in many respects in the interest of both the technology owners
and receivers. The investment and operating costs, for example, could be
substantially lowered with effective transfer, local adaptation, and devel-
opment. A balance, therefore, needs to be struck between the various as-
pects of technology transfer.
 Many developing countries have tried to regulate transfer of technology
through contractual agreements, in order to implement national policies
on technology flow. A more promotive measure to regulate technology
flow is to have technology information available, and perhaps a "match
maker" unit to advise prospective buyers on suitability of the contractual
agreements. Another promotive measure is to give financial and tax incen-
tives for transfer of technology, regarding imported technology as a com-
ponent of foreign investment to be attracted. Since biotechnology is a fast-
developing field, it appears that, for developing countries with the goal of
biotechnology development, promotive measures are, in general, to be