Israeli Conference on Biotechnology Cooperation

An international conference on worldwide cooperation for the development of biotechnology has been held in Israel, organized by the National Steering Committee for Biotechnology, the Ministry of Science, the Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Committee for Mission-Oriented Research. The meeting heard Kevin O'Connor of the US Office of Technology Assessment point out that, at about 40%, Israel has the highest proportion of international funding for its biotechnology industry.

Israel's Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Dr Y Gleitman, said his Office is funding 75 biotechnology projects from 62 companies, but this represents under 10% of total OCS activity, which is notable for funding lower-risk quicker-to-market projects in the area of telecommunications and microelectronics.

A new feature is the launch of the Magnet Program for developing pre-competitive R&D, through technological infrastructure and industrial-academic cooperation by consortia of industrial firms and academic research groups. There are three biotechnology projects in this program, one of which deals with the development of medicines, vaccines and diagnostic kits based on receptor-ligand interactions. Applications include vaccines against hepatitis, AIDS and other viral illnesses.