By Tracy Sayler
The recent 2007 Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) International
Convention held in Boston drew a record 22,366 attendees, a nearly 15
percent increase from the previous year.
The Convention is the world?s largest event for the biotechnology
industry. This year?s Convention drew representatives from 48 states and
64 countries, with one-third of attendees from outside the United
States.

Keynote speakers were Queen Noor of Jordan and Michael J. Fox. Queen
Noor discussed opportunities presented by biotechnology to address
global health and poverty issues. Michael J. Fox, who founded the
Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson?s Research since being diagnosed
with Parkinson?s disease in 1991, stressed the need for the
biotechnology industry to continue to innovate and accelerate the
translation of basic science into improved therapies for patients. The
best drug for treating Parkinson?s has been around for 40 years, he
pointed out. Fox likened treatment discovery to a high stakes poker
game?it requires an investment, and sometimes we lose, sometimes we win,
playing with the cards that are dealt. With biotechnology, the wild card
may help win the game.

Agbiotech goes beyond transgenics

Some people tend to think of biotechnology as only meaning "transgenic,"
when engineering transgenic traits into plants and animals is really
just a small part of the biotech-driven revolution in agriculture. In
reality, biotechnology also encompasses advances in genomics,
bioinformatics, and molecular biology, and the bio industry needs to
communicate the fact that more precise information about the genetic
makeup of plants and animals (as well as plant and animal pests) can be
used in non-transgenic ways to make better food, fuel, and fiber.

One panel of experts from the United States, New Zealand, and Australia
described how information technology and agriculture are converging to
create solutions in agriculture. "The convergence of information
technology and molecular biology dramatically increases agriculture?s
potential to supply fuel and animal feed as well as more nutritious
food," said Sano Shimoda, president of California-based BioScience
Securities.

Ray Riley, global head of corn and soybean product development for
Syngenta, pointed out that agriculture based IT, such as gene sequencing
and molecular markers technology, is increasingly becoming focused on
consumer attributes "rather than just production by the pound." For
example, source verification and DNA-based traceability is a cornerstone
of food safety. And a better genetic understanding of cellulosic crops
will help create more efficient biofuels.

Gerard Davis, CEO of Catapult Genetics (Australia/New Zealand), noted
that global competition for grain drives research aimed at improving the
efficiency of cattle and sheep in converting feed to meat, milk, and
biofeedstuffs. He described how DNA analysis and genomics is supporting
the targeted breeding of more efficient livestock.

Fruit breeding, too, is drawing on a suite of biotechnologies to create
more novel, flavorful, and fragrant varieties with increased health
promoting qualities. Gavin Ross, from New Zealand fruit developer
HortResearch, pointed out that advances in germplasm IT, plant genomics,
and flavor biotechnologies are generating tastier fruit varieties and
new advances for the human health and flavor and fragrance industries,
as well as ecologically better growing practices.

Opening doors to seed banks

A key point made during the session titled 'Yours Mine or Ours; Who Owns
the World?s Genetic Resources' was that the fear of big companies owning
genetic seed resources is misaligned. In actuality, the problem is a
hodge-podge of national policies that can inhibit access to plant
genetic resources. Researchers and plant breeders frequently look to
foreign sources of germplasm to find new traits for resistance to pest
and diseases, yield improvement, and tolerance to environmental
stresses. The emergence of new biotechnology-based plant breeding tools
only heightens the importance of open access to germplasm, according to
David Hegwood, USDA?s minister-counselor for agricultural affairs in
Rome.

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture aims to improve international cooperation and the open
exchange of crops and their genes that farmers all over the world have
developed and exchanged over 10,000 years. Drafted in November 2001
after more than seven years of formal negotiations in the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization, the ITPGRFA is the first effort to
establish international rules governing access to genetic resources.

"It all starts with the seed," said Bernice Slutsky, Vice President for
Scientific and International Affairs for the American Seed Trade
Association, about access barriers to seed banks and germplasm vital to
crop improvement. "Access, benefit sharing, innovation, and intellectual
property protection all need to be factored together." ASTA advocates
that the U.S. sign on to the treaty, details of which can be found
online at [www.fao.org].

Cellulosic ethanol: closer than you might think

As one daily newspaper pointed out, "three or four years ago, someone
attending BIO?s annual convention could walk into one of the panel
discussions on industrial biotechnology and practically hear crickets.
It wasn?t exactly the hottest ticket in town." However, rising gas
prices have changed that, and a number of well attended sessions at this
year?s BIO focused on the booming biofuels market.

Industrial biotechnology is dedicated to achieving sustainable and
renewable energy production. Use of specialized enzymes for generating
biofuels can reduce or replace harsh chemicals that contaminate the
environment and make the process more productive and efficient. In
addition, new 'no cook' enzymes extract the sugars in corn at room
temperature, greatly reducing energy inputs and improving the cost and
environmental profile of ethanol made from corn starch. These advances
in enzyme technology and microbial fermentation have increased the
efficiency of corn ethanol production by 20 percent, from 2.5 gal/bu in
2000 to nearly 3 gal/bu today. Development of ethanol production from
cellulosic biomass (such as corn stalks, wheat straw, or switchgrass) is
also on the cusp of commercial production, due to dramatic advances in
the development of cellulase enzymes. Industrial biotech companies have
reduced the cost of the cellulose-digesting enzymes used to make ethanol
by 30-fold since 2001, from over $5 per gallon of ethanol produced to
under $0.20.

Brent Erickson, executive vice president in charge of the Industrial and
Environmental Section at BIO, said that cellulosic ethanol is closer to
commercialization than many think. In 2004, Iogen Corporation became the
first company to begin commercial production of ethanol from cellulose,
using biotech enzymes that convert wheat straw to clean burning ethanol.
Other cellulosic ethanol biorefineries are under construction in York,
Nebraska (Abengoa Bioenergy) and Emmetsburg, Iowa (Broin Companies).
Biorefineries are also planned in Idaho (Iogen Corporation), New York
(Mascoma Corporation), and Louisiana (Celunol/Diversa).

The 2008 BIO International Convention will be held June 17-20 in San
Diego, California. Details will be available online at
#[www.bio2008.org]