NZ won't miss bus again, says Hodgson

By SIMON COLLINS

New Zealand may have "missed the bus" on information and communications technology, but Science Minister Pete Hodgson says he is determined not to let it happen again with biotechnology.

He told an international pharmaceutical research and development conference in Auckland yesterday that New Zealand had the medical and the agricultural foundations for a successful biotechnology sector.

Hodgson, a former veterinarian, said the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification had "told us that this is where it's at in the next century in terms of technology".

"That is something I have personally felt for as long as I have watched us miss the ICT bandwagon, if I can be blunt. And it's not going to happen again."

He toured Auckland University's Tamaki campus yesterday and told the conference the university had "all sorts of cluster things going on, including some pretty stretchy ideas about clinical trials".

The Government was consulting with the universities, researchers and industry about a "biotechnology strategy" that would include "science/society issues", regulations and industry development.

The first of three industry consultation meetings to be held around the country is in Auckland today. .

The Government was also promoting the formation of a "biotechnology taskforce" to be serviced by Industry New Zealand but composed "predominantly but not exclusively of private-sector people".

"The biotechnology industry, whatever that is, will have to put up some cash, but because it's a new industry it won't have to front up with a lot," he said.

"Its task will be to identify commercial barriers, human capital barriers, regulatory barriers, market barriers, to that industry growing faster and better than it does at the moment, and it's growing fast and well at the moment."

Outside the conference, he said New Zealand "missed the ICT bus" because it did not have either military research or a venture capital industry "and the entrepreneurship that goes with it".

Hodgson has initiated the $100 million Venture Investment Fund, which is seeking private fund managers who will at least match the state's funding. Due diligence to select the final list of fund managers started last week.

The vice-president for clinical research of the Switzerland-based pharmaceutical giant Novartis, Dr David Parkinson, said the big drug companies were constantly scouring the world for research partners, and were impressed with New Zealand.

"What we are looking for is concentrations of expertise, researchers with world-class expertise interested in working with us to help define the relationship between biology and drug development," he said.

"Then we would be looking for clinical researchers interested in working with us to help define our new agents - how they behave in patients.

"We look round the world to find the smartest people that we can work with."