Biotechnology in Pakistan stands at a crossroads, as we boast huge natural resources but equally huge political, social and economic problems. Pakistan is among those developing countries which have a long history of lack of political will when it comes to issues in science and technology.

Although the present government has initiated a number of worthwhile programmes in natural sciences, health, education and economic development, progress continues to be constrained by limited financial resources and an inefficient and cumbersome administrative structure. The distribution of financial resources and even foreign aid among scientific institutions is uneven at best.

As a consequence, some institutions have the latest equipment and hardware, while many others don't even have funds for stationery. In such an environment, biotechnology and genetic engineering face seemingly insurmountable hurdles.

Pakistan today has achieved a unique status in agricultural, health, industrial and environmental biotechnology. It is appropriate therefore that it should support research efforts in biotechnology.

There are various funding mechanisms now in place to support research and development in different biotech disciplines in the country and incentives have been provided to enhance performance. Currently there are hundreds of scientists, working for more than 29 centres, who conduct biotech research in different areas.

A large number of scientists are being trained through indigenous PhD programmes and through training at foreign universities.

Although most biotech research institutes claim that they have the capacity to conduct biotech research and development in many fields, only a few have made noteworthy achievements. The major centres in the country, having adequate infrastructure, are:

- Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), ;
- National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad ;
- National Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology (NCEMB), University of the Punjab, Lahore; ;
- Nuclear Institute of Agriculture and Biology (NIAB), Faisalabad, ;
- The Centre for Molecular Genetics (CMG), University of Karachi, ;
- Biomedical and Genetic Engineering Division, Dr A.Q. Khan Research Laboratories, Islamabad, ;
- Centre of Agriculture, Biochemistry and Biotechnology (CABB), University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, ;
- Agriculture Biotechnology Institute, National Agriculture Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, ;
- University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi, , and;
- Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Peshawar .

In the early 1980s, the government launched a programme under which expatriates visited different research laboratories and participated in short-term courses and training workshops. In 1981 the Nuclear Institute of Agriculture and Biology (NIAB), Faisalabad, organised a course on recombinant DNA methodology and genetic engineering which marked the beginning of initiatives in biotechnology in the country.

Major achievements of NIAB, established in 1972 by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), include the introduction new crop varieties and studies related to the control of salinity and pests. Our best-known cotton variety, NIAB-78, which was formulated at this institution, now covers about 50 per cent of the area under cotton cultivation in the country.

Similarly, NIAB Karishma, which enjoys a higher yield, has shown tolerance to cotton leaf curl virus (CLCV) disease. Research activities at NIAB are carried out in different divisions, including those that deal with mutation breeding, entomology, biological chemistry, biochemistry and natural products.

The institution has well-equipped laboratories with facilities such as cobalt-60 irradiation sources, radiation measuring instruments, growth chamber, UDV and amino acid analysers. It collaborates with a number of international research institutions like the International Atomic Energy Agency, International Foundation for Science, Third World Academy of Sciences and International Crop Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics.

The National Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology (NCEMB), University of the Punjab, was founded in 1985 and now comprises state-of-the-art laboratories for carrying out cutting-edge research in molecular biology and biotechnology. Apart from its research and library facilities, NCEMB has land as well as infrastructure for testing genetically modified crop varieties.

One hundred and 60 persons, including 31 senior scientists, 10 post-doctoral fellows, 53 MPhil and PhD scholars, nine technicians and 66 administrative and para-scientific staff are employed there. It has a total annual budget of about $500,000.

The institution has to its credit a number of major achievements in modern biotechnology. It developed plant expression vectors for the introduction of foreign genes and synthesised four Bt pesticidal genes used in cotton and rice against American bollworm and rice leaf-folder.

The genetically modified pest resistant varieties produced there include Bt rice Indica Basmati 370, while three novel Bt genes are being patented through a US company. Confined field trials of Bt basmati rice were successfully carried out last season. In addition, studies are being carried out to evaluate virus and insect resistance in genetically modified crops of mango, potato, tomato, chickpea, sugarcane, tobacco and cucurbits.

The centre has discovered 45 new restriction enzymes. It has also developed procedures for the diagnosis of genetic and infectious diseases and is known as a pioneer in DNA-based methods for pre-natal diagnosis of beta thalassaemia.

On the international scene, NCEMB collaborates with the University of Washington, New England Biolabs, University of Cincinnati and National Institute of Health, USA.

The National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (Nibge), Faisalabad, is a federal research institute that was established in 1992. Within a short span of five years, this centre earned a place among institutions of excellence in the country. It has been awarded the status of an affiliate centre for the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology.

There are seven research centres of Nibge, including plant biotechnology division, biofertilisers technology division, health biotechnology division, industrial biotechnology division and environmental biotechnology division. In the plant research sector, the relationship of Gemini viruses with cotton leaf curl disease has been understood at the molecular level and Burewala strains-linked disease has been tackled by developing ways to differentiate between different viral genomes.

As cotton is the backbone of our economy, the plant biotechnology division focuses on it. The centre is involved in a project with the John Innes Centre, Norwich, United Kingdom, and the University of Arizona, USA, through the International Cotton Advisory Committee, Washington DC.

A biofertiliser, with the trade name of BioPower, has been launched for various crops by Nibge. It is the first Pakistani institute that has developed diagnostic tools for various diseases based on the Polymerase Chain Reaction. Biomining of low-grade Pakistani ores is another process that's ready for commercial application.

The Nibge laboratories have state-of-the-art equipment, including a capillary electrophoresis-based automated DNA sequencer (Perkin Elmer), fermenters, a DNA synthesiser, FPLC, HPLC, high speed centrifuges and gel system.

Funding

Pakistan until recently has been focussing on first generation applications in biotechnology, especially in agriculture and textile, leather and chemical industries, besides health, bioinformatics and environment. The government has invested about $17 million (Rs952 million) in research and development in various biotech projects, like vaccine production and insect-resistant crops.

The ministry of science and technology has allocated Rs720 million for 29 projects and the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council has set aside Rs25.8 million for 12 projects. The Higher Education Commission and Pakistan Science Foundation sponsored 16 and 13 projects - costing Rs197.4 million and Rs9.55 million, respectively, between 2000 and 2004.

Similarly, a Rs600 million grant was made available by the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited. The Pakistan Council for Science and Technology is also funding small research projects.

Many international institutions also provide financial assistance in various biotech projects. Such organisations include the Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, World Bank, USAID, Rockefeller Foundation and Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research.

More than 70 projects have been approved in various disciplines of biotechnology and genetic engineering at different institutes. However, the status of the projects is unknown.

International projects

Many cooperative programmes have been launched in biotech and advanced molecular technology in the country with collaboration from other countries. Noteworthy developments are:

Pakistan-US Science and Technology Cooperative Programme - Projects selected for joint funding under this programme include: Gene pyramiding through genetic engineering for increased salt tolerance in wheat (Pakistani funding $47,880 and US funding $350,000); Understanding and control of plant viral disease complexes in Pakistan (Pakistani funding $142,000 and US funding $175,000); Intensification of forensic services and research at the Centre for Applied Molecular Biology (Pakistani funding $118,650 and US funding $160,000).

Similarly, a project titled Control of Gemini virus diseases of cotton and tomato in Pakistan and Australia has been launched which is funded by the ACIAR. Its budgeted cost is $907,750 and the project is supposed to be completed by the end of this month.

Meeting between Pakistan, India and the US - In May of 2005 a meeting was held in Lahore at which an "umbrella agreement" on biotech science was initialled which is the first one with any country in the region. This will serve as an oversight panel for the tripartite collaborative project on pro-poor and pro-nature agricultural biotechnology.

Its main objectives include breeding crops for tolerance/resistance to abiotic stresses with particular reference to drought and salinity, risk and safety assessment, human resource development in advanced technologies with particular reference to techniques relevant to the collaborative research programme, and technology sharing in areas of mutual benefit. For this purpose projects have already been identified, which would be launched by the end of this month.

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Science and Technology, whose meeting was chaired recently by Gen Pervez Musharraf, has declared biotechnology as one of the high priority areas in research. Last year pre-commercial planting of indigenously developed Bt cotton seed supplied by PAEC was carried out in Punjab and Sindh.

Because of the encouraging outcomes of these events, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the government would allow farmers to grow Bt cotton in 2006-07. However these varieties are currently undergoing biosafety assessment under the Biosafety Rules of 2005.

Biosafety framework

The biosafety regulatory legislation for research and development is in its infancy in Pakistan. The government has ratified or signed many international agreements, like the Convention on Biological Diversity, Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, and Cartagena Protocol of Biosafety, to exhibit its growing interest in the genetically modified organisms trade under WTO rules and regulations.

That's why legal protection for intellectual property is being strengthened and biosafety rules and guidelines have been approved. Pakistani research institutes do follow international biosafety regulations, such as those approved by the US National Institutes of Health.

Regulations to govern and supervise DNA research and products (Biosafety Guidelines 2005), involving genetically modified organisms, have been approved by the ministry of environment. Pakistan's National Biosafety Committee is in charge of ensuring that risk assessment is carried out in accordance with biosafety guidelines.

India and China

Several developing countries now have well-developed biotechnology programmes and they are approaching the cutting edge of applications. In our region, China has taken the lead vis-a-vis research for genetically modified plants.

It has been investing $100 million per year in the discipline since the beginning of this century. There are thousands of Biotech National Research Laboratories, employing hundreds of scientists. At present, more than 60 versions of GM plants have been approved for field trials. The leading GM plant in China is Bt cotton, covering 66 per cent of the area under cultivation.

India too has embarked upon a very ambitious programme in biotechnology, with a view to harnessing its available human and biodiversity resources. The biotechnology sector in India has in recent years witnessed accelerated growth. With approximately 200 industrial organisations producing biotech products, the sector is expanding rapidly.

Currently the bio-pharma sector has the largest market share (over 75 per cent), followed by bio-agriculture (8.5 per cent), bio-services (8 per cent), industrial products (5.5 per cent), and bio-informatics (3.5 per cent). India, the world's third-largest cotton-grower, planted Bt cotton crops over 136 million acres in 2005-06, which was an increase of 460 per cent as compared to the previous year.

According to some reports, India will be the largest manufacturer of biotech vaccines in the world by 2010.

Conclusion

Since biotechnology is a very sensitive discipline, the government's role is of vital importance so that biotechnological tools could be used safely and effectively for the benefit of the masses. It must provide adequate funding and formulate clear polices to ensure that it can contribute effectively and safely towards poverty reduction and food security.

The authorities should enhance cooperation with the private as well as public sector in the development of biotech products and services so that the economy gets a boost. They must set up effective, transparent and workable biosafety regulatory and enforcement systems to ensure that the risks are minimised.

The government must formulate and enforce intellectual property rights. We must develop our own rules and regulations on bio-information and/or sharing of genetic data with others. Similarly, we must develop our own bioethics and standards.

It is also important that all biotech institutions and scientists are given equal status. Equally important is the issue of utilisation of available resources. These need to be effectively marshalled and championed and synergies need to be created to bring about productive enterprise.

It is important for government bodies to facilitate researchers by providing them with world class and relevant information on time. Lastly, the government must encourage true research. After all, this is what Pakistan needs at the moment. Otherwise, all the money and efforts spent in this sector will go to waste.

The writer is a freelance contributor.