FDI Report
advancing scientific and technological develop- ment in a setting where research, education, and biotechnology products and services would be developed in parallel. Contrary to the success- ful examples in some industrialized nations, a reliable and continued funding of research proj- ects based solely on government funds can be extremely difficult to achieve for reasonable pe- riods of time due to the lack of long-term poli- cies and changing economic and political realities. Thus the concept, born out of necessity, was to create a not-for-profit centre where in- come derived from the sale of biotechnological products, services, and training, could be used to support research initiatives and development. CorpoGen was started by five founding scien- tists and today has grown into a Centre of Ex- cellence in research and training that makes efficient use of infrastructure and resources. Cur- rently, the centre is housed in a 3000 sq ft facil- ity equipped to carry out advanced methodologies for molecular microbial biotech- nology developments and applications. There are three main branches (areas) in CorpoGen: Research & Development, Products & Services and Training & Education. R&D in CorpoGen reflects the interests of its investigators as well as the needs of the country. CorpoGen has four re- search groups: Genetics/Microbiology, María Mercedes Zambrano, PhD Harvard Medical School, USA; Microbial Ecology, Howard Junca, PhD TU Braunschweig, Germany; Biotechnology, Patricia Del Portillo, BSc Uni- versidad de Los Andes, Colombia; Bioinfor- matics, Juan Manuel Anzola, PhD Texas A&M USA. The centre has 4 PhD, 8 MSc and 5 BSc full-time scientists trained in different areas re- lated to the Biological Sciences, as well as grad- uate (3 PhD and 5 MSc) and undergraduate students in training as part of their thesis proj- ects. Staff members teach short focused courses in diverse areas of molecular biology and biotechnology; and practicing scientists from other institutions (academic and industrial) ob- tain advanced training at CorpoGen. CorpoGen has organized workshops and symposia with renowned international speakers, and has also offered courses in molecular biotechnology tools and applications, in bioinformatics and ad- vanced seminars on state-of-the-art molecular biology technologies in different regions of Colombia. Although the majority of the ongo- ing research projects are funded by Colciencias, other funding agencies include the Ministries of Health and Agriculture, the European
New European Economy
Commission, the governments of Canada, France and Brazil and several entities from the private sector. The projects contain both basic and applied specific aims. CorpoGen is recog- nized as one of leading research
insti-
tutes in Colombia and is coordinator or a key participant in several national multi-centre research networks for biotechnological developments. More details at:
www.corpogen.org/research.html
The researchers at CorpoGen developed prod- ucts out of experience and research results and adapted to local market demands. Some exam- ples of these products currently in the national market are: kits for the molecular detection of human pathogens important in the food industry Salmonella sp and Listeria monocytogenes; kit for the detection of a viral disease in shrimps farms, and molecular biology reagents and en- zymes for industrial or research applications such as TucanTaq DNA polymerase for the in vitro amplification of DNA. The centre is now bioprospecting enzymes from microbial diver- sity. CorpoGen also has a longstanding tradition as service provider with more than 15 years of experience. The centre offers specialized con- sulting and services in the areas of molecular bi- ology, bioinformatics and biotechnology to the scientific and academic communities as well as to the private sector. In some cases strategic al- liances with private companies have been es- tablished.
Comments and perspectives from CEO and cofounder Patricia Del Portillo, Head of Re- search Group Molecular Biotechnology: What kind of research and development is Cor- poGen doing now? How are your expectations about the positioning of CorpoGen in the com- ing years?
CorpoGen is now in a vibrant stage, one I was expecting to achieve a long time ago. We cur- rently have a plethora of national and interna- tional collaborators of the highest scientific level; we have been able to overcome the current economic crisis by innovating with new prod- ucts and services, in a dynamic and competent administrative environment, an important ad- vantage compared to the public sector. For in- stance, we have obtained international research funding as members of European research con- sortia by proposing state of the art projects ap- plying the most advanced technologies that ultimately
aim towards biotechnological 123
applications and product development. We are now moving ahead by complement these efforts by including industrial partners. We see that there are bright perspectives for all sides in- volved.
How is CorpoGen financed? Briefly, CorpoGen is currently financed with public funding obtained through calls for re- search projects and from profits derived from products and services.
Why do you think it is important to invest in Biotechnology in Bogota? Or, specifically, in a private biotechnology R&D venture such as CorpoGen? This question brings to mind my participation in the main government commission regarding biodiversity, biotechnology and bioprospecting. Both this and international assessments, such as those by WHO, OCDE, PNUMA, point towards the value of biological resources and the rational and advanced investigation in biotechnological applications. Economic sectors are networked and inter-dependent, and could profit from biotechnological applications as a part of their activities. There are some official estimates showing that roughly 20% of the total Colom- bian expenditure in science is coming from pri- vate sectors, compared to about 80% spent in developed countries. This shows the great po- tential and an almost unexplored field of oppor- tunities for international investors.
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