Biotech Updates

Biotech Indicators for Public Policy

March 19, 2008

Consistent and internationally comparable metrics across countries for biotechnology inputs are necessary for policy formulation and as a guide in making investment decisions.  Countries need to measure outputs, particularly in Asia, where it is probably the biggest growth area for biotech. This was forwarded by Anthony Arundel, senior researcher of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in an article "Biotechnology indicators for public policy."

Arundel notes that policy support for biotech is "still very much dependent on high expectations" with governments investing money because they expect enormous benefits in the future. Biotech indicators can partly measure these expectations so that projections are realistic and based on available data.

The article is available in "Asian Biotechnology, Innovation and Development: Issues in Measurement and Collection of Statistics published by the Research and Information System for Development Countries. Email A. Arundel at Anthony.ARUNDEL@oecd.org